Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus Nicotiana of the kerabat Solanaceae, and the general termin for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chief commercial crop is N. tabacum. The more potent jenist N. rustica is also used in some countries.
Dried tobacco leaves are mainly used for smoking in cigarettes and cigars, as well as pipes and shishas. They can also be consumed as snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, and snus.
Tobacco contains the highly addictive insentift alkaloid nicotine as well as harmala alkaloids.[3] Tobacco use is a cause or risk hal for many deadly diseases, especially those affecting the heart, liver, and lungs, as well as many cancers. In 2008, the World Health Organization named tobacco use as the world's singgel greatest preventable cause of death.
The English word tobacco originates from the Spanish word "tabaco".[5] The precise origin of this word is disputed, but it is generally thought to have derived, at least in part, from Taíno, the Arawakan language of the Caribbean. In Taíno, it was said to mean either a roll of tobacco leaves (according to Bartolomé de las Casas, 1552), or to tabago, a kind of L-shaped pipe used for sniffing tobacco smoke (according to Oviedo, with the leaves themselves being referred to as cohiba).[6][5]
However, perhaps coincidentally, similar words in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian were used from 1410 for certain medicinal herbs. These probably derived from the Arabic طُبّاق ṭubbāq (also طُباق ṭubāq), a word reportedly dating to the ninth century, referring to various herbs.
Tobacco has long been used in the Americas, with some cultivation sites in Mexico dating back to 1400-1000 BC.[9] Many Native American tribes traditionally grow and use tobacco.[10] Historically, people from the Northeast Woodlands cultures have carried tobacco in pouches as a readily accepted trade elemen. It was smoked both socially and ceremonially, such as to seal a peace treaty or trade agreement.[11][12] In some Native cultures, tobacco is seen as a gift from the Creator, with the ceremonial tobacco smoke carrying one's thoughts and prayers to the Creator.
