Cash Crops

Nov 02, 2010

<b>Tobacco</b><br>Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, it is used in some medicines.

Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, it is used in some medicines. It is most commonly used as a recreational drug, and is a valuable crop for many countries including Uganda.

In consumption it most commonly appears in the forms of smoking, chewing and snuffing. Absorption quantity, frequency, and speed of tobacco consumption are believed to be directly related to biological strength of nicotine dependence, addiction, and tolerance.

The usage of tobacco is an activity that is practised by 1.1 billion people, and up to a third of the adult population. The World Health Organisation reports it to be the leading preventable cause of death worldwide and estimates that it currently causes 5.4 million deaths per year.

Tobacco is cultivated similarly to other agricultural products. Seeds are sown in cold frames or hotbeds to prevent attacks from insects, and then transplanted into the fields. Tobacco is an annual crop, which is harvested either mechanically or by hand.

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