History and origin of tobacco

As an original home of the tobacco plant is the American double-continent, where the Indians already knew hundreds of years ago, the intoxicating effects of this plant and used for cult purposes. While in North America, tobacco was smoked in pipes, is known from the South American Indians, they also chewed and snuffed him. Initial reports on the smoking of tobacco on the sailors came to Columbus to Europe. In the 16th Century, Spanish conquerors brought the tobacco plant, first to Spain, where it was cultivated mainly as an ornamental plant. 1570 brought Jean Nicot, the French ambassador in Portugal, the tobacco plant in France, which was now named in his honor Tabacum nicotiana. It subsequently came to the French court, the sniffing of tobacco in fashion, while by Dutch sailors from that time already smoking of tobacco is known. The first mention of the German tobacco plant is found in 1579 a treatise on the cultivation of tobacco. In the 17th Century widened the smoking of tobacco in the course of the Thirty Years War over Europe and eventually came to China and Japan.

Cultivation and consumption of tobacco have been repeatedly banned in the years in many countries, however, a further extension of consumption that could not prevent. However, smoking was banned on the streets in Germany until 1848. The consumption of tobacco was carried out initially with the help of elaborate whistles before with the introduction of the cigar, and finally through the mass production of cigarettes, the mid-19th Century has been simplified. The biggest boom experienced smoking in the 20 Century. Due to take the associated health risks, however, proved more and more countries, measures to limit the consumption of cigarettes.