[4] 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.

[6][7] According to Iroquois mythology, tobacco first grew out of Earth Woman's head after she died giving birth to her twin sons, Sapling and Flint.

[10] Historically, people from the Northeast Woodlands cultures have carried tobacco in pouches as a readily accepted trade item.

Francisco Hernández de Toledo, Spanish chronicler of the Indies, was the first European to bring tobacco seeds to the Old World in 1559 following orders of King Philip II of Spain.

These seeds were planted in the outskirts of Toledo, more specifically in an area known as "Los Cigarrales" named after the continuous plagues of cicadas (cigarras in Spanish).

Small quantities were smoked at a time, using a pipe like the midwakh or kiseru, or newly invented waterpipes such as the bong or the hookah (see thuốc lào for a modern continuance of this practice).

[15] While a lucrative product, the growing expansion of tobacco demand was intimately tied to the history of slavery in the Caribbean.

[21][22] Following the scientific revelations of the mid-20th century, tobacco was condemned as a health hazard, and eventually became recognized as a cause of cancer, as well as other respiratory and circulatory diseases.

In the 1990s, this prompted the Food and Drug Administration to allege that tobacco companies were intentionally manipulating the nicotine content of cigarettes.

For example, although the cabbage looper is a generalist pest, tobacco's gummosis and trichomes can harm early larvae survival.

However, young plants came under increasing attack from flea beetles (Epitrix cucumeris or E. pubescens), which caused destruction of half the tobacco crops in United States in 1876.

[33] In the United States, tobacco is often fertilized with the mineral apatite, which partially starves the plant of nitrogen, to produce a more desired flavor.

Various mechanical tobacco planters like Bemis, New Idea Setter, and New Holland Transplanter were invented in the late 19th and 20th centuries to automate the process: making the hole, watering it, guiding the plant in—all in one motion.

In modern times, large fields are harvested mechanically, although topping the flower and in some cases the plucking of immature leaves is still done by hand.

This produces certain compounds in the tobacco leaves and gives a sweet hay, tea, rose oil, or fruity aromatic flavor that contributes to the "smoothness" of the smoke.

[41] According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, tobacco leaf production was expected to hit 7.1 million tons by 2010.

[52] Brazil's government has made attempts to reduce the production of tobacco but has not had a successful systematic antitobacco farming initiative.

Brazil's government, however, provides small loans for family farms, including those that grow tobacco, through the Programa Nacional de Fortalecimento da Agricultura Familiar.

Early exposure to pesticides may increase a child's lifelong cancer risk, as well as harm their nervous and immune systems.

[68] Tobacco has played a pioneering role in callus culture research and the elucidation of the mechanism by which kinetin works, laying the groundwork for modern agricultural biotechnology.

We will not receive as members into our churches nor will we ordain or license to preach or to exhort, persons who use, cultivate, manufacture, or sell tobacco.

[90]: 44 Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (popularly known as Mormons) adhere to the Word of Wisdom, a religious health code that is interpreted as prohibiting the consumption of tobacco as well as alcohol, coffee, and tea.

[97] A study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that in 2019 approximately one in four youths (23.0%) in the U.S. had used a tobacco product during the past 30 days.

[106] The harms caused by inhaling tobacco smoke include diseases of the heart and lungs, with smoking being a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (emphysema), and cancer (particularly cancers of the lungs, larynx, mouth, and pancreas).

[107] In children, exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke is associated with a higher incidence and severity of respiratory illnesses, middle ear disease, and asthma attacks.

Each year in the United States, secondhand smoke exposure causes 24,500 infants to be born with low birthweight, 71,900 preterm births, 202,300 episodes of asthma, and 790,000 health care visits for ear infections.

In drug effect preference questionnaires, a rough indicator of addictive potential, nicotine scores almost as highly as opioids.

[113] Tobacco also contains 2,3,6-Trimethyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (sometimes called 2,3,6-TQ and TMN) which is a reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitor of type A and B with a binding affinity somewhat similar to that of clorgyline and deprenyl.

[121] The radioactive particles build up over time in the lungs and a UCLA study has estimated that the radiation from 25 years of smoking would cause over 120 deaths per thousand smokers.

[125] Statistica estimates that in the U.S. alone, the tobacco industry has a market of US$121 billion,[126] despite the fact the CDC reports that US smoking rates are declining steadily.