By shade-growing, I specifically mean in shade that reduces the total daily sun exposure by roughly 30 to 40%, either by total shade for part of the day, or by partial shade throughout the day. Connecticut Shade is grown beneath 40% shade cloth. Certain areas of Indonesia and Ecuador grow beneath clouds (tropical or cloud forest conditions).
The most common problem with growing in the shade of most residential properties is that the trees producing the shade are close enough to inhibit growth by root intrusion. This is not a problem if there are very tall trees at a significant distance, or the lay of the land (together with distant trees) blocks part of the sun's path.
Shade from nearby structures (a house, a fence, etc.) may shade for part of the day. Whether it gives you a shade-grown response from tobacco depends, to a large extent, on the color and reflectivity of the structure. As an example, I regularly grow tobacco in a long bed beside my house. The house completely blocks the sun for about 1/3 of every day. But the house is sheathed in white vinyl siding. So the tobacco gets shade, but then gets blasted with direct and reflected sun for the remainder of the day. It doesn't seem to create thinner, larger leaves, but instead gives me hardy, normal size leaf with a rich aroma and flavor.
I would say that growing within the drip margin (directly beneath the canopy) of a large tree is usually a troublesome location. Since I haven't created raised beds, I can't comment on the degree to which that would mitigate the issue of root intrusion.
Bob