Jump to full article: Reuters, 2006-10-25
Author: Helen Popper
Intro: The South American country has joined the list of nations cracking down on smoking and its tobacco farmers have long been encouraged to replace at least some of their tobacco crops with alternatives ranging from pigs to pine trees.
But in the verdant province of Misiones, tobacco is still the most profitable crop for small farmers, and growing tobacco lets them join a union that gives them health insurance and the power to negotiate better prices with tobacco companies.
"Tobacco isn't as bad as people think because it gives us a livelihood," said Da Rosa, sitting on the veranda of his cottage surrounded by rain-splashed orange trees, bright green tea bushes and young tobacco plants.
"There are a lot of heavy anti-smoking campaigns but cigarette sales are still the same and in the grand scheme of things, they won't stop people smoking," he said.
The nearby town of San Pedro lies some 800 miles north of Buenos Aires at the heart of the tobacco-producing region of Misiones, named after the missions established by Jesuits in the area in the 17th century.
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