Agriculture
![Picture](/uploads/2/9/5/5/29558391/8635909.jpg)
In present day, tobacco agriculture is very widespread. Tobacco can be grown in many different places, typically in low- or middle-income countries. Tobacco is grown in at least 124 countries, occupying 3.8 million hectares of agricultural land. This is an incredibly large amount of cultivation going on worldwide. Tobacco is flexible and can be grown in several different types of climates. Tobacco is originally a tropical crop but can be grown in subtropical and temperate regions around the world. The crop cannot withstand frost, and any temperature above 35°C will cause the crop to wither. Tobacco needs 50-100 cm of well-distributed rainfall throughout its growing period. Many countries and places worldwide acquire the standards that are needed to grow tobacco. Therefore, tobacco is grown very widespread and is able to be produced at large amounts.
Economic Importance in America
The United States of America doesn’t rely on tobacco as much as they used to, but they are still a top producer of tobacco worldwide. Although U.S. tobacco production has decreased significantly since the 1950s, the United States continues to be a leading producer of tobacco leaves. In 2007, China, Brazil, India, and the United States produced two-thirds of the world's tobacco. In the United States, tobacco was grown in 16 states. The largest tobacco-producing states were Kentucky and North Carolina, accounting for 71% of tobacco grown in the United States. Obviously tobacco plays a huge role in America. This is because of the overall usage of tobacco products. Cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco are the three main demands of the people in America. First, more than 293 billion cigarettes were purchased in the United States in 2011, with three companies selling nearly 85% of them. This demonstrates the incredibly high demand for cigarettes in the U.S.A. Also, in 2011, about 13.7 billion cigars were purchased in the United States. This demand for cigars even added to the already great production of tobacco in America. Lastly, approximately 124.6 million pounds of smokeless tobacco were purchased in the United States in 2011, with three companies selling nearly 90% of this form of tobacco. Overall, the production and sales of all different forms of tobacco really depicts the importance of tobacco products in the United States. Lately, America has made some measures to reduce the overall use of tobacco in America. A 10% increase in price has been estimated to reduce overall cigarette consumption by 3–5%. This is actually a significant drop in usage when you consider how many people use tobacco nationally. Research on cigarette consumption suggests that both youth and young adults are two to three times more responsive to changes in price than adults. Many countries around the world are taking measures against tobacco due to the health risks. Not only did tobacco play a huge role in colonial America, but it also is a key factor to modern America and other countries.
Effects On the Environment
Tobacco has many environmental downsides and effects that are directly related to the amount of tobacco agriculture. First, large amounts of land are need to farm tobacco. Each year, 20,000 hectares of forests are cleared to cure tobacco. This large-scale deforestation is arguably one of the biggest downsides to the environment. Next, tobacco is a key contributor to undernourishment in many low- to middle-income countries. In 2009, six of the top ten tobacco producing countries had undernourishment rates between 5% and 27%. Tobacco is a contributor to undernourishment in many countries because the land is used to grow tobacco rather than food. In conclusion, tobacco is one of the biggest and most important economic crops, but is also has many negative environmental effects.