MADE IN THE USA: Child Labor & Tobacco

Overview

The video argues that child labor in U.S. tobacco farming is widespread while being legally and officially minimized, despite being hazardous. It opens with accounts of children transported on school buses not to school, but to tobacco fields, where they perform physically dangerous and chemically exposed work—such as harvesting and handling wet tobacco plants (“pulling the suckers”).

Key Claims and Supporting Evidence

• Legal loophole for hazardous work

  • The video claims that while U.S. law requires people to be 18 to buy cigarettes, children can still work on tobacco farms at age 12 or younger.
  • It argues the government does not acknowledge this labor as hazardous.

• Health risks from toxic chemicals and pesticides

  • Children report illness after pesticide spraying near where they work.
  • The video states that toxic pesticide exposure can cause serious long-term outcomes, including:
    • Cancer
    • Nervous system damage
    • Reproductive health impacts
  • It emphasizes that developing bodies are especially vulnerable.

• “Green tobacco sickness” / nicotine poisoning

  • The video explains that workers—especially when tobacco is wet—can absorb nicotine through the skin.
  • It reports that interviews with 141 children found most described symptoms consistent with acute nicotine poisoning.
  • It also states that long-term health impacts are unknown, and that children may become sick through:
    • Direct handling
    • Fumes/smell in barns

• Extreme heat and unsafe working conditions

  • Children describe working 50–60 hours per week in intense heat.
  • The video cites inadequate protective equipment, such as trash bags for wet-cutting, which children may have to buy themselves.
  • It also highlights:
    • Lack of drinking water
    • Limited access to bathrooms

• Physical dangers from tools and heights

  • The video highlights risks from sharp tools and machinery.
  • It describes falls from high wooden structures, reported at 10–30 meters, with potential for fatal injury.

• Economic exploitation and family hardship

  • The video links labor to poverty and limited alternatives, including:
    • Low pay
    • Family dependence on farm wages
    • Risk of homelessness if rent is unpaid
  • It includes a case study of a 9-year-old who helps by selling sodas and occasionally farming due to lack of childcare while family members work.

• Corporate responsibility

  • The video notes that 90% of U.S. tobacco is grown in four states.
  • It claims that major cigarette/tobacco companies buy tobacco from farms where children work, arguing these companies have a responsibility to prevent children from performing hazardous labor.

Conclusion / Stated Opinion

The video calls for ending child labor in the U.S. tobacco supply chain, using testimony from parents and workers who say they would not want their own children to endure heat, chemical exposure, and injury risks.

Presenters / Contributors

• Samuel — a 9-year-old tobacco worker (quoted)
• Patricia — a tobacco worker and mother of six (quoted)
• Unidentified children/workers — 141 children interviewed, with testimony summarized in the script