Tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of the plant Nicotiana tabacum and to a limited extent Nicotiana rustica and the cured leaf that is used, usually after aging and processing in various ways for smoking, chewing, snuffing and the extraction of nicotine, the principal alkaloid of tobacco.(4) The species N. tabacum has never been found to grow in the wild.(1) The use of the word tobacco is generally accepted as referring to the products of the tabacum species and so it will be in what follows. Tobacco holds an unparalleled position among crop plants in the world such as:
1) It is one of the very few crops entering world trade entirely on a leaf basis.
2) It is the most widely grown commercial non-food plant in the world.
3) It
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N. tabacum has a uniquely high proportion of alkaloids occurring as nicotine and is considered to have survived as a species by man's protection. Creation of new species through hybridization is a natural botanical occurrence. It is an accepted assumption that N. tabacum arose as a natural hybrid. N. sylvestris contributes one genome, but agreement on the other contributor is not agreed upon. Artificial creation of hybrids which results in 'synthetic tobacco' bear very close genetic similarity to N. tabacum. Cultivated tobaccos have changed immensely over time and it is unlikely that the forms of other species now available bear to close a resemblance to what existed in the distant past.(1)
Botany
Tobacco is normally grown as an annual and is potentially a woody, shrub like perennial. The tobacco plant has a very shallow root system which provides poor anchorage for the more extensive above ground development. The N. tabacum types are one of the smaller species of tobacco varieties. The leaves supply the most important economic value of the plant and are given the most attention by botanists. Although there is variation in leaf size and shape there is general uniformity of distribution, size and shape within cultivated types. Between types, size and shape may vary considerably but not in distribution. The characters which may include leaf shape
Big tobacco is losing in a war for the public to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and The Truth Initiative. Big tobacco being the large tobacco companies in the world like Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International, and China Tobacco. The CDC is a government operated agency that contributes to the overall health of the public. The Truth Initiative is the largest non-profit public health organization in the U.S. whose goal is to inspire tobacco free lives. Not only is Big tobacco losing, they may have already lost.
Tobacco (2017) explains that harsh chemicals are used in the production process of tobacco as early as planting. Healthy tobacco seedlings are planted in soil that has been somewhat sterilized by using chemicals such as Bromomethane or burning. This is done to protect the crops from disease, pests, weeds and roundworm, however bromomethane is considered illegal in many countries due to its highly toxic nature. Once matured the tobacco leaves are cured either by air, fire or flue methods. After curing tobacco is graded and packaged for sale to the manufacturers (Tobacco, 2017).. Cigarettes and other tobacco products are produced with many additives to control shelf life, disguise the irritations caused by nicotine and to create a more
Tobacco can be found two ways, it can be dried brown leaves of various sizes or it can be a grown form of tobacco. When extracted from the leaves, nicotine is colorless, but quickly turns brown when exposed to air. It then becomes a poisonous, pale yellow, oily liquid with a pungent odor and acrid taste. The amount of nicotine contained in tobacco leaves ranges
Smokeless tobacco is presented as an alternative to smoking cigarettes, although smokeless tobacco has some benefits over smoking cigarettes, it also causes harm to the user. There are different forms of smokeless tobacco such as chewing tobacco that come in the forms of as Plug/Twist, Verb Use (consider revising). Snuff another form of smokeless tobacco composed of grounded tobacco leaves requires you to place it between the gums and cheeks, then spit out the juices or swallow if you please. The newest version called snus, in which you place them between the gum/cheek, but you do not have to spit out juices. Smokeless tobacco should not be used as a harm reduction strategy because it still causes health problems for the user such as oral
Throughout the rich history in the United States tobacco, timber, and alcohol have been very important to the culture in America. Each of these products contributed economically to the colonies. Some have contributed to the shaping of governments and laws. There has recently been a debate about which colonial product was most important to the colonist. Each product has served an important role in building each one of the colonies. Evidence shows that tobacco played the most critical influence on many colonies in early America.
In addition to the American Indians’ discovery of the tobacco plant, the farmers of the Virginia Colony undoubtedly changed tobacco forever. In 1660, English factories were stocked to the brim with tobacco which caused the product’s price to drop immensely. The colonists
This was a very important factor in the beginning of the tobacco cultivation, brought about by James Rolfe in
Throughout the time of the Roanoke catastrophe and the hardships of Jamestown, tobacco made its grand introduction as America’s newest cash commodity that would allow success to flourish in Virginia, with a permanent English presence. Tobacco was formally popularized by a man named John Rolfe in the year 1610 and became the top resource that helped the future of this colony thrive. Tobacco did all of this by turning an
* 30. In the mid-1600s competition from milder Virginia tobacco and the expulsion of experienced
Tobacco was not a brand-new invention of the times. The Spanish held somewhat of a monopoly on tobacco in the European markets and Native Americans had used it for medicine for thousands of years. The first tobacco seeds of the Jamestown colony were imported by English colonist John Rolfe “who in 1612 obtained Spanish seeds, or Nicotiana tabacum, from the Orinoco River valley” (Salmon). It arrived in the English colonies in 1612 at Virginia because Jamestown was originally established by the British as a settlement for trade with the Indians. To compete with Spanish traders who were dominating the tobacco trade, Rolfe brought over tobacco seeds from the West Indies to be grown in the Jamestown colony. The colony and its’ economy grew rapidly
Although it remains a large portion of the U.S’ economy, tobacco smoking can lead to a variety of diseases and disorders that affect the user. The effects of smoking tobacco not only affect the user but surrounding people as well: permanently destroying their lungs and children, increasing the chances of diseases and of cancer.
Tobacco had an effect on the colonies in many different ways. In colonial Virginia, tobacco was it’s most successful cash crop. The tobacco that the first English settlers encountered in Virginia tasted bitter and dark to the English. In 1612 John Rolfe obtained Spanish seeds, Nicotiana tabacum, from the Orinoco River valley. These seeds when planted at the bottomland of the James River, produced a still dark, but milder leaf. This became the European standard for tobacco.
The use of tobacco is a very controversial topic here in the United States. The harmful side effects of tobacco are well known and consequently, many believe that it should be outlawed. Though this has not yet occurred, constant regulations on the industry and
The effects of cigarette smoking can be horrifying. Smoking is dangerous not only to those who smoke, but to non-smokers and unborn children as well. Cigarette smoking is also physically and socially harming.
Tobacco has been around for many years, and it should be stopped, but can the economy handle it. The tobacco is reaching young children, and not to mention the nonsmokers as well. The medical effects alone should convince people to stop smoking. Even if the people wanted to quit, it's hard because they are already addicted. If the health doesn't stop people from smoking the cost should because this year the tax on tobacco has gone up dramatically. So now the cost is weakening our pockets. The only ones that win in the tobacco field are the Tobacco Company, because they make all the money. If profits fall, all they have to do is advertise a little harder and profits will roll