( CNN ) -- Children ca n't light up , but there are some who suffer the effects of nicotine exposure as they labor in U.S. tobacco fields . There is not an exact figure for how many children work in America 's tobacco fields , but Human Rights Watch interviewed nearly 150 for a new report on the dangers these workers face . `` I would barely eat anything because I would n't get hungry , '' one child worker , Elena G. , 13 , told the human rights group . `` Sometimes I felt like I needed to throw up . ... I felt like I was going to faint . I would stop and just hold myself up with the tobacco plant . '' Nearly 75 % of the children interviewed reported similar symptoms -- nausea , vomiting , loss of appetite , headaches , dizziness , irritation and difficulty breathing . These are symptoms of acute nicotine poisoning , Human Rights Watch said . And nicotine is not the only danger . Exposure to pesticides from adjacent fields and accidents with sharp tools are also common , the report said . `` Once they sprayed where we were working . We were cutting the flower and the spray was right next to us in the part of the fields we had just finished working in . I could n't breathe , '' Jocelyn R. , 17 , told HRW . `` I started sneezing a lot . The chemicals would come over to us . '' Altria , one of the biggest cigarette makers , does not employ its own farmers but maintains strict standards on the contractors it buys tobacco from , company spokesman Jeff Caldwell said . His company 's view is not that the HRW report is critical of the tobacco industry , but that it asks for cooperation with various interests to protect the safety of workers , especially minors , he said . `` Our tobacco companies do not condone the unlawful employment or exploitation of farm workers , especially those under the age of 18 , '' Caldwell said . Altria requires that its growers follow certain guidelines that specifically include best practices for labor management when it comes to harvesting tobacco . Issues such as avoiding acute nicotine poisoning and heat stress are addressed in the guidelines , he said . U.S. tobacco companies intend to work together to further discuss the topics in the report , he said . The study focused on four tobacco-growing states : North Carolina , Kentucky , Tennessee and Virginia . Children can legally work in the tobacco fields , and some as young as 11 and 12 years old do . These children primarily work during the summer to help support their families . The majority of them were Hispanic children of immigrants who lived in nearby towns , the report said . `` As the school year ends , children are heading into the tobacco fields , where they ca n't avoid being exposed to dangerous nicotine , without smoking a single cigarette , '' Margaret Wurth , a co-author of the report , said in a news release . `` It 's no surprise the children exposed to poisons in the tobacco fields are getting sick . '' Many of the children the group spoke with reported working long hours without overtime pay or enough breaks , HRW said . One of the recommendations of the report is that no one under 18 be allowed to work in tobacco fields , due to the risks that such exposure can bring . Photos : The tobacco farm -- where America 's story started . In 2009 : Child tobacco farmers 'exposed to toxic levels of nicotine '
Human Rights Watch releases report on child labor in tobacco fields . The report, titled "Children and Tobacco Workers in the Philippines," documents how children as young as 12 are forced to work for up to 14 hours a day at farms owned by multinational companies such as Philip Morris Many suffer the negative effects of nicotine exposure .