Overview

Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS) is a malady that afflicts workers harvesting Tobacco: nicotine is absorbed through the skin when handling wet Tobacco leaves. Workers have reported symptoms of nausea, vomiting, weakness, dizziness, headache, and, depending on the amount of exposure, decreases in heart rate and blood pressure. These are the classic signs of nicotine poisoning. This illness often lasts for several days, and some workers have required hospital treatment.

In the fields, the workers' clothes became wet from moisture on the Tobacco leaves, and most workers did not use gloves or protective clothing. Workers that used Tobacco products were less like to suffer from GTS because of tolerance to the effects of nicotine. Another interesting observation was that older workers were less likely to develop GTS, possibly because younger workers who are sensitive to nicotine leave the work force. The incidence of GTS would be reduced through appropriate worker education about the absorption of nicotine through the skin and the use of protective clothing.

References

MMWR (1993). Green Tobacco Sickness in Tobacco Harvesters – Kentucky, 1992. Vol 42, No 13;237 April 9, 1993. Online. Available HTTP: <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00020119.htm> (accessed: 5 July 2003).