Suicídio de fumicultores a partir da percepção de familiares no Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

Rio Grande do Sul stands out in the cultivation of tobacco, being the Brazilian state responsible for the largest tobacco production in the country. Research points out that tobacco cultivation can be quite unhealthy, leading tobacco farmers to suffer from illnesses due to the production of tobacco, among these health problems the suicide of tobacco farmers is alarming. According to the Bulletin of Epidemiological Surveillance of Suicide and Attempted Suicide in Rio Grande do Sul in 2018, the state has an average suicide rate almost twice the national average. From these data, a research was carried out with the objective of identifying which socio-cultural and psychological factors may be associated with the suicide of tobacco growers in the state. This work is the result of an exploratory research, in which semi-structured interviews are carried

out with family members of tobacco farmers who have committed suicide, EMATER / RS- ASCAR and CEREST workers, a representative of the MPA, and a key informant of the

community. From the interviews already carried out, some factors appeared in common in the family members' narratives regarding the relationship with tobacco companies, such as the indebtedness and the lack of autonomy of tobacco farmers in the negotiations related to the price adjustment indexes of tobacco and commercialization. It is also possible to identify the prevalence of suicide in men, which is associated with the stereotype linked to peasant’s image.