Tobacco products

After the agricultural product, tobacco, has been processed. It can produce a number of products.

Consumable

Chewing tobacco

Chewing is one of the oldest ways of consuming tobacco leaves. Native Americans in both North and South America chewed the leaves of the plant, frequently mixed with lime. Modern chewing tobacco is produced in three forms: twist, plug, and scrap. The term "Chewing" is actually somewhat misleading. Chewing tobacco is consumed orally, but it is rarely enjoyed by actually chewing. An experienced tobacco chewer generally takes a small amount and places it in the bottom lip of the mouth, between the gum and the teeth where it is gently compacted tighter and tighter into the chewer's lip. Frequently when chewing it is common to spit and discard of excess saliva caused by the tobacco, justifying the existence of the spittoon.

A few manufacturers in the United Kingdom produce particularly strong twist tobacco meant for use in smoking pipes rather than chewing. These twists are not mixed with lime although they may be flavored with whiskey, rum, cherry or other flavors common to pipe tobacco. Twist is the oldest form. One to three high-quality leaves are braided and twisted into a rope while green, and then are cured in the same manner as other tobacco. This was originally devised by sailors due to fire hazards of smoking at sea, and until recently this was done by farmers for their personal consumption, in addition to other tobacco intended for sale. Modern twist is occasionally lightly sweetened. It is still sold commercially, but rarely seen outside of Appalachia. Popular brands are Mammoth Cave, Moore's Red Leaf, and Cumberland Gap. Users cut a piece off the twist and chew it, expectorating.

Plug chewing tobacco is made by pressing together cured tobacco leaves in a sweet (often molasses-based) syrup. Originally this was done by hand, but since the second half of the 19th century leaves were pressed between large tin sheets. The resulting sheet of tobacco is cut into plugs. Like twist, consumers sometimes cut, but more often bite off, a piece of the plug to chew. Major brands are Axton's, Days Work, and Cannonball.

Scrap, or looseleaf chewing tobacco, was originally the excess of plug manufacturing. It is sweetened like plug tobacco, but sold loose in bags rather than a plug. Looseleaf is one of the more popular forms of tobacco in modern times. Among those, popular brands are Red Man, Beechnut, Mail Pouch and Southern Pride. Looseleaf chewing tobacco can also be dipped.

Creamy snuff

Creamy snuff is a tobacco paste, consisting of tobacco, clove oil, glycerin, spearmint, menthol, and camphor, and sold in a toothpaste tube. It is marketed mainly to women in India, and is known by the brand names Ipco (made by Asha Industries), Denobac, Tona, Ganesh. It is locally known as "mishri" in some parts of Maharashtra. According to the U.S. NIH-sponsored [http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/TCRB/stfact_sheet_combined10-23-02.pdf 2002 Smokeless Tobacco Fact Sheet] , it is marketed as a dentifrice. The same factsheet also mentions that it is "often used to clean teeth". The manufacturer recommends letting the paste linger in the mouth before rinsing.

Dipping tobacco

Dipping tobacco, also known as American moist snuff or spit tobacco, is a form of smokeless tobacco. Dip is sometimes "chew"; because of this, it is commonly confused with chewing tobacco. Instead of literally chewing on tobacco, a small clump of dip is 'pinched' out of the tin and placed between the lower or upper lip and gums.

Gutka

Gutka (also spelled gutkha, guttkha, guthka) is a preparation of crushed betel nut, tobacco, and sweet or savory flavorings. It is manufactured in India and exported to a few other countries. A mild stimulant, it is sold across India in small, individual-size packets. It is consumed much like chewing tobacco, and like chewing tobacco it is considered responsible for oral cancer and other severe negative health effects.

Used by millions of adults, it is also marketed to children. Some packaging does not mention tobacco as an ingredient, and some brands are pitched as candies - featuring packaging with children's faces and are brightly colored. Some are chocolate-flavored, and some are marketed as breath fresheners.

Snuff

Snuff is a generic term for fine-ground smokeless tobacco products. Originally the term referred only to dry snuff, a fine tan dust popular mainly in the eighteenth century. This is often called "Scotch Snuff", a folk-etymology derivation of the scorching process used to dry the cured tobacco by the factory. Snuff powder originated in the UK town of Great Harwood and was famously ground in the town's monument prior to local distribution and transport further up north to Scotland.

European ("dry") snuff is intended to be "sniffed" up the nose. Snuff is not "snorted" because snuff shouldn't get past the nose, i.e.; into sinuses, throat or lungs. European snuff comes in several varieties: Plain, Toast (fine ground - "very" dry), "Medicated" (menthol, camphor, eucalyptus, etc.), Scented, and Schmalzler, a German variety. The major brand names of European snuffs are: Toque Tobacco (UK), Bernards (Germany), Fribourg & Treyer (UK), Gawith (UK), Gawith Hoggarth] (UK), Hedges (UK), Lotzbeck (Germany), McChrystal's (UK), Pöschl (Germany) and Wilsons of Sharrow (UK), TUTUN-CTC (Moldova).

American  ("moist") snuff is much stronger, and is intended to be dipped. It comes in two varieties—"sweet" and "salty." Until the early 20th century, snuff dipping was popular in the United States among rural people, who would often use sweet barkless twigs to apply it to their gums. Popular brands are Tube Rose and Navy.

Moist snuff is also referred to as dipping tobacco or "smokeless tobacco," and its use is known as "dipping." In the Southern states, taking a "dip" of moist snuff is sometimes called "putting a rub in," the moist snuff in the mouth is known as a "rub." This is occasionally referred to as "snoose" in New England and the Midwest and is derived from the Scandinavian word for snuff, "snus." Like the word, the origins of moist snuff are Scandinavian, and the oldest American brands indicate that by their names. However, snuff may also be called a "dinger" or a "lipper" in New England, and its user may "pack a dinger."  American Moist snuff is made from dark fire-cured tobacco that is ground, sweetened, and aged by the factory. Prominent North American brands are Copenhagen, Skoal, Timber Wolf, Chisholm, Red Seal, Grizzly, and Kodiak.

Some modern "smokeless tobacco" brands, such as Kodiak, have an aggressive nicotine delivery. This is accomplished with a higher dose of nicotine than cigarettes, a high pH level (which helps nicotine enter the blood stream faster), and a high portion of unprotonated (free base) nicotine.

It has been suggested by "The Economist" magazine that the ban on smoking tobacco indoors in some areas, such as Britain and New York City, may lead to a resurgence in the popularity of snuff as an alternative to tobacco smoking. Although the large-scale closure of British mines in the 1980s deprived the snuff industry of its major market since snuff became unfashionable (miners took snuff underground instead of smoking to avoid lethal explosions and fires), sales at Britain's largest snuff retailer have reportedly been rising at about 5% per year.The Economist: "Thou shalt not inhale", Issue 8465, February 18th, pg 28]

Snus

Swedish snus is different in that it is made from steam-cured tobacco, made in other ways than fire-cured, and its health effects are markedly different, with epidemiological studies showing in lower rates of cancer and other tobacco-related health problems than cigarettes, American "Chewing Tobacco", Indian Gutka or African other. Prominent Swedish brands are Swedish Match, General, Ettan, and Tre Ankare. In the Scandinavian countries, moist tobacco comes either in loose powder form, to be pressed into a small ball or ovoid either by hand or with the use of a special tool. It is sometimes packaged in small bags, suitable for placing inside the upper lip, called "portion snus". These small bags keep the loose tobacco from becoming stuck between the users teeth; they also produce less spittle when in contact with mucous membranes inside the mouth which extends the usage time of the tobacco product.

Since it is not smoked, snuff in general generates less of the nitrosamines and other carcinogens in the tar that forms from the partially anaerobic reactions in the smoldering smoked tobacco. The steam curing of snus rather than fire-curing or flue-curing of other smokeless tobaccos has been demonstrated to generate even fewer of such compounds than other options of snuff; 2.8 parts per mil for "Ettan" brand compared to as high as 127.9 parts per mil in American brands, according to a study by the State of Massachusetts Health Department. It is hypothesized that the widespread use of snus by Swedish men (estimated at 30% of Swedish men, possibly because it is much cheaper than cigarettes), displacing tobacco smoking and other varieties of snuff, is responsible for the incidence of tobacco-related mortality in men being significantly lower in Sweden than any other European country. In contrast, since women are much less likely to use snus, their rate of tobacco-related deaths in Sweden is similar to that in other European countries. Snus is clearly less harmful than other tobacco products; according to Kenneth Warner, director of the  University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network,

Public health researchers maintain that, nevertheless, even the low nitrosamine levels in snus cannot be completely risk free, but snus proponents maintain that inasmuch as snus is used as a substitute for smoking or a means to quit smoking, the net overall effect is positive, similar to the effect of nicotine patches, for instance. Snus is banned in the European Union countries outside of Sweden (regular snus, not portion, is allowed in Denmark and snus is also becoming a regular among Norwegians, as cigarettes are seen by Norwegian popular culture as untrendy and much more unhealthy than snusFact|date=March 2007). Although this is officially for health reasons, it is widely regarded, in fact, as being for economic reasons, since other smokeless tobacco products (mainly from India) associated with much greater risk to health are sold too.

Although it lacks the carcinogenicity of high levels of nitrosamines, however, any harmful effects of nicotine will still be seen with snus usage. Current research concentrates on nicotine's effect on the circulatory system and on the pancreas.Fact|date=March 2007

On June 11, 2006, Reynolds Tobacco announced that the new be nem marketing brand of Camel snus in Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas by the end of the month. The product would be manufactured in Sweden, in conjunction with British American Tobacco, manufacturers of BAT snus. [ [http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june112006/smokeless_ashtrays_61106.php Reynolds Makes Big Move Into Smokeless Tobacco] ]

Topical tobacco paste

Topical tobacco paste is sometimes recommended as a treatment for wasp, hornet, fire ant, scorpion, and bee stings. [ [http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/c782-w.html Beverly Sparks, "Stinging and Biting Pests of People"] Extension Entomologist of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Cooperative Extension Service.]   An amount equivalent to the contents of a cigarette is mashed in a cup with about a 0.5 to 1 teaspoon of water to make a paste that is then applied to the affected area. Paste has a diameter of 4 to 5 cm (1.5 to 2 inches) and may need to be moistened in dry weather. If made and applied immediately, complete remission is common within 20–30 minutes, at which point the paste can be removed. The next day there may be a some residual itching, but virtually no swelling or redness. There seems to be no scientific evidence, as yet, that this common home remedy works to relieve pain.cite web | last =Glaser | first =David | title = Are wasp and bee stings alkali or acid and does neutralising their ph them give sting relief? | work = | publisher = www.insectstings.co.uk | date =  | url =http://www.insectstings.co.uk/sting-acid-or-alkali.shtml | accessdate = 2007-05-03] For about 2 percent of people, allergic reactions can be life-threatening and require emergency treatment. For more on this, see bee stings.

As a result, to reduce the harm that tobacco has made to humankind, the World Health Organization(WHO) successfully rallied 168 countries to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003. [ [http://www.who.int/fctc/en/index.html WHO | WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) ] ] The Convention is designed to push for effective legislation and its enforcement in all countries to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco.On November 10, 2003,China signed the Convention. On August 28, 2005, the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress formally ratified the Convention, making China the 89th ratifying country.The Chinese government held a launching ceremony for the Convention On October 13,2005, which became effective in China on January 9, 2006. [http://www.wpro.who.int/NR/rdonlyres/350121C8-B601-4B88-9BB1-1CE463F5E5A3/0/2007Chinatobaccocontrolreport.pdf]

Tobacco water

Tobacco water is a traditional organic insecticide used in domestic gardening. Tobacco dust can be used similarly. It is produced by boiling strong tobacco in water, or by steeping the tobacco in water for a longer period. When cooled the mixture can be applied as a spray, or 'painted' on to the leaves of garden plants, where it will prove deadly to insects.

Basque "angulero" fishermen kill immature eels (elvers) in an infusion of tobacco leaves before parboiling them in salty water for transportation to market as "angulas", a seasonal delicacy. [ [http://www.buber.net/Basque/Food/food1.html Angulas] ]

Paraphernalia

Cigarette card

Cigarette cards are trade cards issued by tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging and advertise cigarette brands. Beginning in 1875, cards depicting actresses, baseball players, Indian chiefs, and boxers were issued by the Allen and Ginter tobacco company. These are considered to be some of the first cigarette cards. [cite web|last=Shaw |first=James A. | url=http://www.wclynx.com/burntofferings/adsallen_and_ginter.html |title=ALLEN & GINTER'S CHAMPIONS |accessdate=2006-06-21] Other tobacco companies such as Goodwin & Co. soon followed suit.

Some very early cigarette cards were printed on silk which was then attached to a paper backing. Each set of cards typically consisted of 25 or 50 related subjects, for example famous football or Canadian ice hockey players, Boy Scouts or British butterflies. They were discontinued in order to save paper during World War II, and never fully reintroduced thereafter. Today, sports historians study these cards for details on uniform design. [ [http://www.collectionscanada.ca/hockey/024002-2001-e.html?PHPSESSID=rq9jcm5ucr4uim576lt6808ik4 Backcheck: A Hockey Retrospective] at Library and Archives Canada]

Taspo

nihongo|Taspo|タスポ, is a smart card developed by the Tobacco Institute of Japan (TIOJ), the nihongo|nationwide association of tobacco retailers|全国タバコ販売協同組合連合会|Zenkoku Tabako Hanbai Kyōdō Kumiai Rengōkai, and the nihongo|Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association|日本自動販売機工業会|Nihon Jidōhanbaiki Kōgyōkai for introduction in 2008. Following its introduction, the card will be necessary in order to purchase cigarettes from vending machines in Japan. The name "Taspo" stands for nihongo|"tobacco passport"|たばこのパスポート|"tabako no pasupōto".

See also

* Tobacco

References

Notes

Bibliography

= External links =