Tobacco in Eastern North Carolina from the 20th Century to Present Day

The introduction of tobacco in the United States was revolutionary. In the late 15th century the Native Americans traded the settlers of the new land tobacco. Smoking quickly became common in the newly discovered America. Christopher Columbus sent tobacco back to Queen Elizabeth’s Court where it became extremely popular in nearly all of Europe’s maritime nations (Gershon). Tobacco quickly became a staple of American life. Many farmers realized the potential that tobacco had, thus is became a safe economic opportunity for many. Tobacco fields became a very common use of the easily available land, especially in eastern North Carolina.

North Carolina found that their fertile land, although mountainous would be perfect for tobacco farming. As tobacco farming grew, very few federal laws were created in order to help integrate tobacco into America’s economy. Independent farmers continued to farm tobacco. In the early 1900s new deal agricultural legislation programs, started by president Roosevelt, created federal tobacco programs (Buchanan). These programs helped the mountain communities assimilate into the market economy. This had very positive effects on Appalachia, specifically in North Carolina where tobacco farms became a staple of their economy. Over 2,000 independently owned tobacco farms are in eastern north Carolina; the majority less than an acre large. The tobacco industry in North Carolina continued to grow until the early 21st century. In 2004 the tobacco programs were terminated due to the pressures of health organizations (Buchanan). This had catastrophic results for North Carolina. Since tobacco is such a large part of both the economy and culture of north Carolina, the way of life for many residents were changed drastically. Jonathan Buchanan claims “Tobacco farming was a crucial element to the survival of agrarian cultures and economies in the mountains”. Since the discovery of America tobacco has become a key aspect of who mountain people are and without it their way of life is not the same. Along with having such an impact on the economy and culture of Carolinians, tobacco use causes a cascade of many health issues.

The use of tobacco, in any form, has multiple negative health effects. Nearly half of all deaths from 12 very common cancers are a linked to smoking tobacco (Simon). This includes cancer of the liver, lung, oral cavity and throat, bladder, kidney, and many more. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in America (Bouquot and Meckstroth). Smoking cigarettes is the cause of most incidents. Nicotine is the addictive element in tobacco that leads to your body relying on the nicotine intake from cigarettes. While you continue to smoke the toxic chemicals and tar that are in cigarettes build up in your lungs and can travel throughout your body spreading the negative effects everywhere (Nguyen et al.). Smoking can effect the functions of the immune system which increases the risk of respiratory and other infections. In the case of breast feeding mothers, the nicotine from the cigarettes can be found in their breast milk (Women & Tobacco). Although the limitations on tobacco productions have been put into play, which have had negative impacts on both the economy and culture of southern Appalachian mountain regions, the health risks and effects that tobacco has on the human body outweigh the negative results of getting rid of the agricultural legislation helping tobacco manufacturing.

Work Cited

Bouquot, J. .., and R. .. Meckstroth. “Oral Cancer in a Tobacco-Chewing US Population — no Apparent Increased Incidence or Mortality.” Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology, vol. 86, no. 6, Mosby, Dec. 1998, pp. 697–706, doi:10.1016/S1079–2104(98)90207–4.

Buchanan, Jonathan. THE STORY OF BURLEY TOBACCO FARMING IN BETHEL, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: CULTURAL MEANINGS AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS. 2012, https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Buchanan, Jonathan_2012_Thesis.pdf.

Gershon, Livia. A Brief History of Tobacco in America | JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2018.

Jonathan. THE STORY OF BURLEY TOBACCO FARMING IN BETHEL, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: CULTURAL MEANINGS AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS. 2012, https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Buchanan, Jonathan_2012_Thesis.pdf.

Nguyen, Kimberly, et al. “State-Specific Prevalence of Current Cigarette Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco Use among Adults Aged ≥18 Years — United States, 2011–2013.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 64, no. 19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 2015, pp. 532–36, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25996096.

Simon, Stacy. Study: Smoking Causes Almost Half of Deaths from 12 Cancer Types. https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/study-smoking-causes-almost-half-of-deaths-from-12-cancer-types.html. Accessed 5 Dec. 2018.

Women & Tobacco. http://www.therapy-store.com/smoking/women__tobacco.htm. Accessed 5 Dec. 2018.