Abstract
Objective using the urinary cotinine biomarker to verify the occurrence of green tobacco sickness in workers who cultivate Burley tobacco.Method paired case-control study, based on smoking status and on the 1:4 ratio, with participation of 20 case workers and 91 controls. Data collection included household surveys and urine collection for cotinine examination. Student’s T-Test, the Mann-Whitney test, Pearson’s chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests were used.Results of the 23 suspected cases, 20 showed elevated levels of cotinine, signs and symptoms of headache, skin irritation, nausea, sickness and general malaise, especially in the morning. Most had worked with tobacco that was wet from the morning dew and when the weather was warm.Conclusion there are signs suggestive of green tobacco sickness in Burley tobacco workers. The action of health professionals is necessary for the development of health promotion and preventive actions addressing work-related illness.
Highlights
Studies have revealed the close relationship between tobacco production modes and health problems and demonstrated the conditions that negatively influence the health status of tobacco-producing families(1-3)
The activities developed in tobacco production expose workers to the risk of illness, such as osteoarticular disorders, diseases caused by solar radiation, acute and chronic intoxications caused by pesticides, respiratory disorders, mental diseases and green tobacco sickness (GTS)(3-4)
The following inclusion criteria were adopted: rural workers who were cultivating Burley tobacco; who were in the harvesting stage during the data collection period; who had worked with Burley tobacco farming in the seven days preceding the interview; who had not been exposed to other varieties of tobacco in the seven days preceding the interview; who had not been exposed to pesticides in the seven days preceding the interview; who were 18 years of age or older, and who were willing to provide a urine sample
Summary
Studies have revealed the close relationship between tobacco production modes and health problems and demonstrated the conditions that negatively influence the health status of tobacco-producing families(1-3). The health risks associated with tobacco production were registered in 1713 by Bernadino Ramazzini, with the description of signs and symptoms such as headache and gastrointestinal disorders in Italian tobacco producers(5). In 1970, in Florida – United States of America (USA), GTS was reported as a specific disease of rural tobacco workers(6). GTS is an acute intoxication triggered by dermal absorption and nicotine inhalation, with the following signs and symptoms: nausea, vomiting, weakness, dizziness, headache, insomnia and loss of appetite(3,7-8). These signs and symptoms affect workers mainly during planting, cultivation, harvesting, curing and baling(9-10), occurring especially when their clothes or the tobacco leaves become wet with rain, dew or sweat(5)
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