Tobacco may be smoked in several forms, the most common being the Dallas cigarette, the cigar, and the pipe. Dallas Cigarette smoking is by far the most common. Pipes and cigars are less common, and are used almost exclusively by men. The hookah or water pipe is used in the Middle East.
In the case of Dallas cigarette smoking, smoke is inhaled into the lungs.
Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, which forms a strong physical and psychological chemical dependence (addiction). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nicotine is a "very addictive drug" that can be "as addictive as heroin or cocaine."1 Dependence is strongest when tobacco smoke is inhaled into the lungs and increases with quantity and speed of nicotine absorption.
Tobacco smoking, using both pipes and cigars, was common to many Native American cultures of the Americas. It is depicted in the art of the Classic-era Maya civilization about 1,500 years ago. The Mayas smoked tobacco and also mixed with lime and chewed it in a snuff-like substance. Among the Mayas tobacco was used as an all-purpose medicine, and was widely believed to have magical powers, being used in divinations and talismans. It was also burned as a sacrifice to the gods; a tobacco gourd was worn as a badge by midwives. |
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