Green Tobacco Sickness: a review

Background: Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS) is an occupational disease caused by dermalabsorption of nicotine that affects tobacco harvesters worldwide. The purpose of this study is toinvestigate the relationship between age, gender, smoking and the use of personal equipment withthe incidence of this disease.Methods: This review was conducted by searching the Pubmed database and Google Scholarusing the keywords green tobacco sickness, nicotine, occupational health, tobacco farming.Several articles were reviewed.Results: Studies have shown that age is inversely related to the incidence of GTS in men, whichcould be related to the higher work intensity among young workers. On the other hand, noassociation was found between age and GTS among women. There is also a significant differencein the prevalence of GTS between genders. The distinct tasks and biological differences betweenmen and women can be the reason for the higher prevalence of this disease in women. Womenmainly remove the stalk of tobacco leaves while men pick the leaves directly from the tobaccofeet. As a result, women's palms have more contact with the leaf surface. Non-smokers have ahigher risk of developing GTS than smokers, which may be related to higher nicotine tolerance insmokers. Other effective factors in prevalence of GTS are contacting with wet tobacco and wetwork clothes due to dew or perspiration, which may increase nicotine absorption through the skin.The use of personal protective equipment such as water-resistant clothing, chemical-resistantgloves, boots and socks and working in dry conditions can reduce the risk of GTS.Conclusion: Whatever the health implications of tobacco consumption, tobacco cultivation willcontinue around the world. Therefore, the challenge is how to reduce the risk of developing thisdisease in people who make a living working in tobacco farms. It is suggested that an awarenesscampaign be launched at the international level and strict safety regulations be formulated for theworkers.

Keywords:

Green Tobacco , Disease , Occupational Health , Agriculture.