Tobacco

From Drug Rehab Wiki

Tobacco is a plant in the potato family, native to America and grown for its large green leaves. Tobacco leaves are dried and manufactured into cigarettes, cigars or pipe tobacco, or "smokeless products" such as chewing tobacco, powered tobacco, and "green cigarettes," in which the person inhales a vapor instead of smoke.

Native Americans had probably used tobacco in their medical and religious ceremonies for centuries when they introduced it to Europeans in the 1500s. By the early 1800s, tobacco was being grown on large plantations for both American and European consumption. Today countries that produce tobacco include the USA, China, Asia, Turkey, Cuba, India, Sumatra, Greece and other European countries.

Tobacco is a difficult crop to manage in that the seedlings must be replanted at two months old, and then topped to prevent flowers from forming, primed to remove lower leaves, and suckered to remove side growths. The plants can reach a height of six feet. When the leaves are ready, they are carefully cut down, usually by hand, and then "cured," that is, allowed to dry until they turn yellow or brown.

Nicotine is one of 2,000 chemicals in tobacco, and it is the one that is highly addictive. Many people continue smoking or using smokeless products for years after they have the desire to quit and even when they understand that their habit is detrimental to their health because they are addicted to nicotine. Tobacco products are linked to cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, and cervix, as well as leukemia. Smokers have increased risks for heart disease, stroke, pneumonia, aortic aneurysm, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, hip fractures, and cataracts.