Excerpts: Tobacco is a commodity that is of major importance to United States agriculture and business. It usually ranks fifth among field crops in cash receipts to farmers, and is fifth in value among agricultural export classifications. It is a major source of revenue for Federal, State, and local governments. (Receipts totaled over 6.2 billion dollars for the fiscal year 1977-78). Consumer expenditures for tobacco products in Calendar year 1977 were 17.1 billion dollars. This publication has been compiled to fill a need for a general summary of the various phases of tobacco production and marketing in the United States and Puerto Rico. The material has been taken from a variety of publications and updated as required. Additional comments have been included, based on first-hand observations and experience by USDA marketing specialists and contributions from tobacco industry sources.