Curious about tobacco use "culture" in other states and countries

[KarenC]

Virginia grows a lot of the country's tobacco so it's not surprising they have more tobacco use.  Kentucky grows a lot of tobacco too, but the culture here is definitely changing, at least in the cities.  In the cities, most public places do not allow smoking.  In the small towns, I'm sure it's much more common.

[Elizabeth86]

I grew up in NC and graduated from high school in 88. There was a smoking section for students right off the cafeteria.

 

When visiting Europe I am always surprised by how many people smoke.

There was at our school during that time frame, it was even in the year book. Lol

[Elizabeth86]

Me too. We live in a county that is world renowned for the dark fired tobacco grown here. Smelling the wood smoke wafting on the air from the tobacco barns firing that tobacco is part of fall. In the mornings, the smoke sits down in the low spots of the field and it's just gorgeous with the golden light and mist rising over the fields and a back drop of colorful fall leaves. The crop in the fields itself is beautiful too.

 

We drove up into Kentucky two weeks ago and saw lots of Burley tobacco in the fields, and hanging in barns. I was surprised that they don't fire cure Burley. It's all air cured. Burley is pretty too!

 

Tobacco is one of the best paying crops in our area. Our family talked about growing it. I just couldn't deal with the violation of my ethics. We decided we wouldn't feel good about making money that way.

 

However, here in Tennessee public smoking is pretty much banned. In my area it is typically seen as a low-class thing. You'll see outdoor smoking in bad parts of town.

 

I can't see the difference between sucking tobacco smoke into your body as opposed to sucking marijuana smoke into your body. I don't get it, but there are a lot of things about that stuff that I don't get either.

Hmm never even heard of fire curing. How interesting.

[fairfarmhand]

http://gentlemint.com/tack/97226/

 

This is a link to what I see everywhere I go this time of year. PEople not from this area have been known to call the fire department and say that someone's barn is burning down!

 

They basically put sawdust on the dirt floor of the barn and hang the tobacco in the barn. They light the sawdust on fire and shut the smoke in.

[Elizabeth86]

http://gentlemint.com/tack/97226/

 

This is a link to what I see everywhere I go this time of year. PEople not from this area have been known to call the fire department and say that someone's barn is burning down!

 

They basically put sawdust on the dirt floor of the barn and hang the tobacco in the barn. They light the sawdust on fire and shut the smoke in.

Oh no lol.

 

What kind of tobacco is it and where does it grow? Dhs family were tobacco farmers, but they grew burley tobacco. I never even thought about other types.

Edited September 25, 2017 by Elizabeth86

[Pawz4me]

NC is far and away the top state in terms of tobacco production. I found this chart interesting as it shows both production numbers by state and how much production declined in each one from 2014 to 2016.

 

As i posted earlier -- I'm in NC, truly in the very heart of tobacco country, and smoking just isn't something I see very often at all. Despite our production of tobacco, the smoking culture has changed tremendously in the past ten to fifteen years. My contacts within the tobacco industry tell me that the majority of what's grown here gets shipped overseas nowadays.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Smoking isn't allowed nearly anywhere here.  When we go to Germany..ugh that's another story. Things have changed..SLOWLY.  It still stinks like cigs everywhere one goes, but it isn't allowed in more places than years ago.  People largely ignored the laws for awhile, but slowly that is changing.  There are still many more places one can smoke than where I live though. 

 

 

[fairfarmhand]

Oh no lol.

 

What kind of tobacco is it and where does it grow? Dhs family were tobacco farmers, but they grew burley tobacco. I never even thought about other types.

 

It's called Dark Fired Tobacco. I see it all over northern middle Tennessee.

[lmrich]

There was at our school during that time frame, it was even in the year book. Lol

I told my family at dinner tonight that we had to do a yearbook page for the smoking section! I was a yearbook editor and remember how odd that was...is. I had to go take pictures and everything so awkward.