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Import Tobacco - Concerned Citizen 12/25/00 10:22 AM  

  Why are the tobacco companies allowed to import cheap tobacco from overseas and it is not subject to the same inspections as U.S. grown leaf? Approx. 400 million lbs. of leaf are imported each year, of that maybe 49% is sampled by U.S.D.A. The oriental types, from certain countries are not checked for illegal chemicals, why is this? Why are our farmers subject to pesticide sampling and all the other B.S. they put up with and the companies are not made to check this cheap foreign tobacco for illegal pesticides? One word POLITICS. Inspect and sample all tobacco brought into the U.S. and also inspect and sample all the tobacco sold in the U.S. if it is sold at auction or contract.