home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
/
Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
/
T
/
Tobacco
/
INFOTEXT
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1992-09-03
|
953b
|
25 lines
Tobacco is classed as any large-leaved plant
of the genus Nicotiana, native to tropical
parts of the Americas. Nicotiana tabacum is
widely cultivated in warm, dry climates for
use in cigars and cigarettes, and in
powdered form as snuff. The leaves are cured,
or dried, and matured in storage for two to
three years before use. Tobacco was
introduced to Europe as a medicine in the
16th century, tobacco was recognized from the
1950s as a major health hazard as it is the
main cause of CANCER. The leaves also yield
the alkaloid nicotine, a colourless oil, one
of the most powerful poisons known, and
addictive in humans. It is used in
insecticides. The worldwide profits of the
tobacco industry are estimated to be over
£4 billion a year. Although thousands of
people a day give up smoking tobacco, it is
believed that thousand of new tobacco smokers
start smoking every day, most of which are
under the age of 16 years.
Subject by: Vince Pike