Symptoms of Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS)


What is it?
Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS) is caused by the nicotine present in fresh, green unprocessed tobacco. This nicotine dissolves in water. When such dissolved nicotine comes in contact with skin, it causes GTS.

Risk group
Those most susceptible to GTS are workers who work on tobacco farms, cutting and harvesting tobacco leaves and those who load these leaves for transportation, all done with bare hands.

The most susceptible time for these workers is early mornings or in the monsoons as there are greater levels of moisture in the air as well as on the tobacco leaves themselves for nicotine to dissolve.

Symptoms
The symptoms of GTS set it between 3 to 17 hours from the time of exposure and last for 1 to 3 days, depending on the extent and severity of the exposure. Below mentioned are some common symptoms of GTS.

Treatment

For severe cases

Preventive measures

Awareness among the risk group, that includes workers on farms as well as those involved in storage and transportation, is also highly essential for prevention of GTS.

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