The surprising history of tobacco

Its use has become so commonplace that few people today know where tobacco comes from and how it was used before it ended up in a cigarette, a cigar or a pipe. The least that can be said is that the history of tobacco is a remarkable one.

Tobacco comes from the New World

Tobacco was grown in America more than 500 years ago. The plant itself is very probably much older, but its cultivation dates from that period. At the time, the Americas were still populated by the Indians, as they were by the other Native American peoples.

They used tobacco mainly for medical purposes, “treating” themselves by rolling tobacco leaves (the Tabaco). They also used tobacco in their well-known peace pipe, together with other herbs. During this period, tobacco was used chiefly by shamans during special ceremonies.

When Christopher Columbus set foot in America and tried to take the territory by force, the Indians defended themselves by dipping the tips of their arrows in nicotine, in order to make death certain for the European soldiers.

Tobacco reaches Europe

From 1492, tobacco graced the palaces of European kings thanks to the navigator. The plant spread very quickly across the world, at exceptional speed. Tobacco plants were grown in Asia and Africa, and the plant became a state monopoly in several countries. It was not until the sixteenth century that the physician to the king of Spain (Philip II) declared it to be a medicinal plant. Yet as early as 1775, scientists were drawing a link between tobacco and cancer.

Despite this warning, tobacco continued to be used, and was even consumed by minors through the cigarettes introduced in France from 1825. Since then, tobacco has remained on sale and is still consumed by many people across the world.