3 min read
The Cigarette and the Farmer: When the Grower Is Also the Consumer
Tobacco farmers smoke at elevated rates—growing the crop and consuming the product. The farmer-smoker is a complex figure: economically dependent on tobacco, physically addicted to nicotine, and caught between livelihood and health.
A tobacco farmer in North Carolina grows the crop and smokes the product—a pack a day, the same brand made from the same type of leaf they harvest. **The farmer-smoker is a complex figure: economically dependent on tobacco, physically addicted to nicotine, and caught between the identity of 'tobacco farmer' (a source of pride) and the identity of 'smoker' (a source of stigma). The public health community sees a victim of industry exploitation. The farmer sees a way of life.**
