History of Cigarette and Pipe Tobacco

Some of the earliest dates for smoking cigarette and pipe tobacco go back nearly 4,000 years to South America. Tobacco was a part of Shaman rituals and it was only 100 years ago that it became known to Europe.

So who did discover smoking tobacco?

One of the earliest Europeans to discover the tobacco plant was Christopher Columbus. The native Indians offered him dry tobacco leaves, but amazingly he didn’t smoke himself. The sailors who served under Columbus were not the same, as they watched the Aborigines and learned from them and packing their pipes with tobacco and smoking away.

One of the ways to enjoy tobacco, besides smoking it was to smell it and this was called snuff. This method of tobacco enjoyment was wildly popular in Asian Africa, America and especially Europe. Its main attraction was that it was smoke free and to the environment considered a friendly pleasure. It was believed to be help prevent colds and offered relief from nose and throat conditions.

Here are 2 of the most popular ways to use tobacco:

Chewing tobacco was a widespread habit of choice amongst the agricultural population in America before World War I. In today’s world it’s not as popular, but still enjoyed and used by several Major league baseball players.

– Smoking tobacco is definitely the easiest form and the most popular method of enjoying tobacco flavor today.

 

Greg Elam –
Content Writer – Windy City Cigars