As it turns out, Borat wasn’t completely full of sh*t. Although yours truly couldn’t point it out on a map (I would SO lose the final round of “Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?”), Kazakhstan actually DOES exist. Being that it is so far away from the watchful gaze of American interest, it’s the perfect place to attempt some less-than-Kosher business practices.

Enter Philip Morris:

Earlier this month, the world was made aware of Kazakhstan (for perhaps the first time since Borat) and more to the point – made aware of child labor in the name of big tobacco. The folks behind Marlboro admitted that children as young as 10 were subject to long, hard (that’s what she said) hours in tobacco fields. Philip Morris has been cultivating tobacco in Kazakhstan for sales made in Russia and former Soviet states for some time now. It’s unknown just how long this has been going on for but what we do know is that there are 72 documented cases of child labor abuses stemming from this discovery.

As if hard labor for next to nothing weren’t bad enough, there are also serious health risks for the laboring children. In the average workday, these kids are exposed to as much nicotine as contained in 36 normal cigarettes. Furthermore, children are at higher risk (due to lower body weight) for contracting Green Tobacco Sickness, where nicotine is absorbed through the skin from contact. The sickness causes nausea, vomiting, headache, muscle weakness and dizziness.

Authorities place the blame equally on Philip Morris and the Kazakh government. Since it was discovered that children were allowed to work 11 to 13 hour shifts, some progress has been made but Human Rights watchdogs aren’t fully confident that child labor has come to a full halt in Kazakhstan’s tobacco fields just yet.