摘要：Public health policies intended to reduce the incidence of smoking-related diseaseadversely affect thousands of tobacco farmers, manufacturers, and other businessesthat produce, distribute, and sell tobacco products. This report assesses the likelyimpacts of declining tobacco demand, and identifies the types of workers, farms,businesses, and communities that are most vulnerable to loss of tobacco incomeand jobs. The dollar impact on the farm sector of a reduction in cigarette demandwill be smaller than that experienced by manufacturing, wholesale, retail, andtransportation businesses, but tobacco farms and their communities may have themost difficulty adjusting. Many tobacco farmers lack good alternatives to tobacco,and they have tobacco-specific equipment, buildings, and experience. Most com-munities will make the transition to a smaller tobacco industry with little difficulty,because tobacco accounts for a small share of the local economy. However, a num-ber of counties depend on tobacco for a significant share of local income.
