The objective of this three-year study was to test our recommendation to growers not to cut or house wet Burley tobacco. The design was a split-split plot, with two cutting treatments, (1) cut wet, (2) cut dry; four housing treatments, (1) protected indoors on a railwagon, housed dry (2) exposed outdoors but kept dry, housed dry (3) sticked out in the field; exposed to wetting, housed dry (4) sticked out in the field; exposed to wetting, housed wet; and two varieties, high and low converter selections of TN 90. In the first year, 2011, there were no significant differences between any of the treatments. There were no differences between cutting treatments in any of the years, but in both 2012 and 2013, there were differences between housing treatments for some of the variables. When the years were combined, there were highly significant differences between years for all variables, and between housing treatments for some variables. In the lamina, there were significant differences between housing treatments in one or both varieties for NNN, NAT, NNK and total alkaloids, but not for total TSNAs (tobacco specific nitrosamines), nitrite nitrogen or nitrate nitrogen. Where there were differences between housing treatments in the individual TSNAs, the lowest were in the railwagon treatment and the highest were in the sticked out treatments. Total alkaloids were highest in the two housing treatments protected from rain, and lowest in the sticked out treatments, probably because some of the surface alkaloids were washed off by rain. We conclude that contrary to expectation, cutting tobacco wet (while inadvisable from other aspects) does not affect TSNA accumulation, but that housing treatments can affect it. Leaving tobacco sticked out for too long, particularly if it is subject to rain, can significantly increase TSNAs.