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( Nicotiana)
Numerous, see text Many plants contain nicotine, a powerful neurotoxin that is particularly harmful to insects. However, tobaccos contain a higher concentration of nicotine than most other plants. Tobacco leaves and sometimes stems are commonly used as entheogens and for pleasure. The leaves are processed into forms that can be smoked, chewed, or sniffed. In many industrialized countries, nicotine is among the most significant addictive substances and a cause for medical concern; see Health effects of tobacco smoking and Smokeless tobacco_Health issues for details. By contrast, in preindustrial societies, tobacco smoking was almost invariably considered a sacred or ritual activity and tightly regulated. Smoking a Native American "peace pipe" would invariably be preceded by paying due homage to the relevant deities and spirits and sacrificing some of the tobacco. Other cultures such as the Aztecs, while smoking tobacco more casually, were nonetheless aware of the fact that it is a potent and addictive drug. See also Religious views on smoking. Native peoples also used tobacco in other ways as an entheogen (e.g. as an additive to ayahuasca), and occasionally in ethnoveterinary medicine, e.g. to rid livestock of parasites. The word nicotiana (as well as nicotine) was named in honor of Jean Nicot, French ambassador to Portugal, who in 1559 sent it as a medicine to the court of Catherine de Medici.[1] It is most commonly smoked in the form of cigarettes or cigars. Tobacco has been growing on both American continents since about 6000 BC and was used by native cultures by around 3000 BC.[citation needed] Employed as an anthelmintic,[2] it has been smoked, in one form or another, since about 3000 BC.[citation needed] Tobacco has a long history of ceremonial use in Native American culture. It has played an important role in the political, economic, and cultural history of the United States of America.
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