A Human Rights Watch report, citing interviews with 141 children aged seven to 17, said three-quarters of those interviewed reported symptoms typical of nicotine poisoning.

Children also said they worked long hours in extreme heat, up to 60 hours a week, the HRW report states. Coupled with use of sharp instruments, the dangers of tobacco farm labour are great enough to justify imposing a ban on workers younger than 18, the report recommends.
Child labour on US farms is not illegal, the report notes. With parental consent, children as young as 12 can work unlimited hours. Children as young as seven may work on small, family-owned farms.
“In the US, it is illegal for children under 18 to buy cigarettes or other tobacco products. However US law fails to recognise the risks to children of working in tobacco farming,” states a summary of the 138-page report. Children were interviewed in the four major growing states, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.