| dc.description.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. | |
