Urinary Cotinine Levels Among Latino Tobacco Farmworkers in North Carolina Compared to Latinos Not Employed in Agriculture

Conclusion:
North Carolina farmworkers experience large nicotine doses. The long-term health effects of these doses are not known. Although procedures to reduce occupational nicotine exposure are known, no changes in work practices or in policies to protect workers have been implemented. Research on the health effects of occupational nicotine exposure must become a priority. Current knowledge of occupational transdermal nicotine exposure must be used to improve occupational safety practice and policy for tobacco workers.

Implications:
This study documents the heavy burden of nicotine exposure and dose experienced by tobacco workers in North Carolina. Hundreds of thousands of farmworkers and farmers in the United States and Canada, as well as agricultural workers around the world, share this burden of nicotine exposure and dose. These results support the need to change work practices and regulations to protect workers. They also document the need to delineate the health effects of long-term exposure to high transdermal nicotine doses.

Source: Nicotine and Tobacco Research - May 9, 2016 Category: Addiction Authors: Arcury, T. A., Laurienti, P. J., Talton, J. W., Chen, H., Howard, T. D., Summers, P., Quandt, S. A. Tags: Original Investigation Source Type: research