Recommended practices : green tobacco sickness

Summary: Workers who plant, cultivate and harvest tobacco are at risk of suffering from a form of nicotine poisoning known as "Green Tobacco Sickness". This illness causes nausea and vomiting that can lead to hospitalization and lost work time. Tobacco workers suffering from Green Tobacco Sickness are at greater risk for heat illness - a potentially deadly condition. Nicotine exposure from handling tobacco leaves may cause nicotine poisoning, also called Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS), with symptoms including nausea and vomiting. Risk of nicotine poisoning increases when the nicotine contained in the tobacco leaves mixes with rain, dew, or sweat, allowing nicotine to get onto the skin and pass into the bloodstream more easily. Workers may experience GTS symptoms while at work or several hours after the workday ends. About one quarter of workers harvesting tobacco in fields located in North Carolina suffered from GTS in a single season, according to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-funded study. Although GTS symptoms normally do not last more than 24 hours after workers stop handling tobacco leaves, there are currently no comprehensive studies evaluating long-term effects.

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