The National Consumers League’s Child Labor Coalition (CLC) continues to stand on the frontlines of the fight to end hazardous child labor in U.S. agriculture, especially in tobacco—one of the most dangerous crops a child can work with. The Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms legislation was introduced by Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). The House bill has 55 cosponsors while over 85 groups have endorsed it. Despite federal restrictions on cigarette purchases by anyone under 21, current loopholes allow children as young as 12 to harvest toxic tobacco leaves. These young workers experience nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, breathing difficulties, and debilitating skin rashes caused by acute nicotine exposure; some have described the work as so overwhelming that it felt “like I was going to die.”

Sadly, no federal prohibitions protect children from this uniquely harmful crop. The Child Labor Coalition is pressing Congress to close this gap, urging lawmakers to ban child labor in U.S. tobacco and safeguard children from a product that kills eight million people each year.

The CLC has also been a fierce advocate for the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety, as it levels the playing field for farmworker children and closes glaring loopholes in child labor laws. We worked closely with Congressman Raul Ruiz (D-CA) and his colleagues in the House of Representatives to raise awareness about this critical legislation.