Fruit of the New World

The tobacco plant grew naturally in North and South America starting about 6,000 B.C. Mayans in Mexico and Central America were among the first to use the plant as a medicinal and spiritual aid, incorporating it into their religious rituals and using it to combat pain and heal wounds. Read the rest of this entry »

As tobacco use has fallen in the United States and other Western countries in the past 20 years, tobacco companies have directed their efforts towards the developing world, especially Asia, with increasing success. Read the rest of this entry »

Who Uses Smokeless Tobacco

Smokeless tobacco, also referred to as snuff or chew, is a tobacco product commonly associated with specific sub-cultures in the U.S., most commonly rural Westerners (cowboys), middle and lower class athletes, and blue collar workers. Nicotine is absorbed into the body by placing fine cut tobacco in the space between the gums and cheek, where it enters the body through the capillaries. Read the rest of this entry »

The negative health effects of cigarette smoking are various and well known, including much higher instances of many kinds of cancer, heart disease, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. Many other illnesses can be associated with people who are exposed to smokers as well - children of smokers are more likely to be born prematurely and with a lower birth weight, and people living in the same home as a smoker can suffer from many of the same ailments as a smoker through secondhand smoke. Read the rest of this entry »