Anna Long and Spencer Johnson...

TobaccoAnna Long and Spencer Johnson

Where is it grown? ● Tobacco is mainly produced in areas with a mild and sunny climate, which is suitable for cultivation.

● North Carolina falls in the tobacco producing region called the Virginia-Carolina Tobacco Belt.

● Kentucky, Tennessee, and parts of South Carolina and Georgia also produce tobacco in the U.S.

How it’s used There are a number of different ways to use tobacco

● Cigarettes ● Cigars and Cigarillos● Dissolvable Products● Electronic cigarettes● Smokeless products

Leaf Parts The leaves of the tobacco plant have different qualities and nicotine amounts based on where on the plant the leaf is found

● Tip○ Leaves at top of plant, contain most

nicotine● Leaf

○ Near the top, contain moderate amounts of nicotine, thick

● Subleaf○ Longer and narrower than cutters and

lugs● Cutter

○ Narrow stem, wider than long● Lug

○ Thin and papery, low nicotine content

Life cycle● Seeds germinate in 7-14 days● Seeds are sewn into seedbeds (typically

styrofoam or plastic float trays) for protection before being transplanted to the field

● 2-3 months after transplanting, plant is topped to keep from developing flowers

● Ripening begins 5-7 weeks after topping, gradually leaves become ready to pick

ProcessingThe leaves on the tobacco plant are allowed to yellow and wilt on the plant before they are brought in for curing. Curing has 4 steps

● Wilting● Yellowing● Coloring● Drying

Curing is done by 1 of 4 methods

● Air curing (done inside buildings; can take 1-2 months)

● Fire Curing (open fires used to cure; takes 3-10 weeks)

● Flue curing (most popular in most of NC; heaters are used to cure tobacco; 4-8 day process)

● Sun curing (placed in the sun to cure; 12-30 days)

Grading● Tobacco leaves are classified as normal or

abnormal ● Normal leaves are graded based on their

position on the stalk and their color.● Three position categories:

○ Lugs (X)○ Cutters (C)○ Leaf (B)

● Three color categories:○ Lemon (L)○ Orange (F)○ Red-brown (R)

● These characteristics are combined to form the proper groups, which are then each divided into 3 or 4 grades depending on their specific characteristics.

● For example, a grade 2 lemon colored lug leaf would be denoted by X2L

Importers● Top importers of raw tobacco include:

○ Belgium-Luxembourg, China, Germany, the U.S., and Russia

Exporters● Top Exporters of raw tobacco are:

○ Brazil, United States, Zimbabwe, India, and China

Issues and Concerns

Health concerns with tobacco are well known.

● Nicotine, naturally produced in tobacco leaves, is an addictive substance.

● Use can cause high blood pressure and blood-flow issues.

● Breathing issues can come from use.● Can cause degeneration of tissue.

Current Events Tobacco use by teens might increase chances of catching COVID-19

https://www.kcrg.com/content/news/American-Heart-Association-concerned-about--569669091.html

There have been patent disputes over smokeless cigarette alternatives

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tobacco-giant-sues-rivals-over-patents-for-cigarette-alternatives-11586467175







Futures Markets ● Tobacco isn’t traded on commodities markets due to the relatively small crop size and because it is mainly only sold from grower to producers limiting the number of intermediaries involved.

● Recently, British American Tobacco just announced that they are hopeful that they can create a coronavirus vaccine for millions of people by June, this cause the U.S. stock market futures to shoot up 1.1% in pre-market trading.

References

https://www.statista.com/statistics/192022/top-10-tobacco-producing-us-states/


https://www.who.int/tobacco/en/atlas19.pdf?ua=1

https://oec.world/en/profile/hs92/2401/#Importers



https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002032.htm

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/recognize-tobacco-its-many-forms

https://www.geochembio.com/biology/organisms/tobacco/





https://www.britannica.com/plant/common-tobacco/Harvest

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3231645/

https://www.ccn.com/u-s-futures-rise-as-mad-men-cigarette-giant-attempts-coronavirus-cure/




https://oec.world/en/profile/hs92/2401/#Importers



https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002032.htm

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/recognize-tobacco-its-many-forms






https://www.britannica.com/plant/common-tobacco/Harvest

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3231645/

https://www.ccn.com/u-s-futures-rise-as-mad-men-cigarette-giant-attempts-coronavirus-cure/

Anna Long and Spencer Johnson...

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