BACKGROUND: Child labour in tobacco farming is considered one of the worst forms of child and adolescent exploitation. In Brazil, the world's leading exporter of tobacco leaves and one of the top three producers globally, this human rights violation deprives children and adolescents of healthier lives. This study investigated the public policies and initiatives undertaken by government authorities in tobacco-growing municipalities.

METHODS: This exploratory study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods and was conducted in two stages. The first stage involved the application of an online questionnaire, which was sent to occupational health services covering municipalities involved in tobacco production across the country's main producing regions. The second stage comprised in-depth interviews with representatives of these services. The research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of ENSP/Fiocruz.
RESULTS: A total of 586 tobacco-producing municipalities and 35 occupational health services were identified. Only 1.2% of these municipalities did not implement actions in this area. Among the services, 6 participated in the study; 33.3% reported being unaware of child labor cases in tobacco cultivation, while 66.6% indicated activities such as surveillance, preventive campaigns, continuous education, and health promotion, albeit with limited impact. The most frequently cited barrier was the lack of political will (100%), followed by the absence of data, a shortage of trained personnel, institutional weaknesses, insufficient infrastructure, and economic and cultural challenges. Although child labor is prohibited in sales contracts, many producers, burdened by debts and high labor costs, rely on family labor. This dynamic perpetuates a cultural cycle in which involving children in production is perceived as necessary.
CONCLUSIONS: The study emphasized the need to strengthen measures to combat child labour in tobacco-growing areas, focusing on capacity-building initiatives for municipal public agents and addressing the strategies employed by the tobacco industry.