Tobacco
Tobacco is a plant with broad leaves that originally grew in North and South America and today is cultivated all over the world. The name tobacco is also called dry and cut leaves of this plant. The main use of this plant is to smoke the smoke obtained by burning its dry leaves, which contains nicotine. This is done by wrapping it in paper or rolling its uncut leaves into cigarettes or cigars, putting them in the hookah head and smoking them.
This plant usually grows 15 to 100 centimeters, its leaves are large and wide and are about half a meter high, which has sticky sap. At the end of the 15th century, after Christopher Columbus discovered the American continent, he was able to learn how to use tobacco from the Indians. According to Indians, tobacco was a sacred plant and connected them with the world of spirits.
Tobacco helped the American economy and made its way to Europe and then other parts of the world. Nicotine alkaloid is commonly known as the main component of tobacco, but nicotine itself is not addictive.
It seems that the reaction between beta carbolines and nicotine is responsible for most of the addictive properties of tobacco use.There are more than 70 species of tobacco plants in the Nicotiana family. The word nicotiana (as well as nicotine) was named after Jean Nicot, the French ambassador to Portugal, who sent this substance as a medicine to the court of Catherine de’ Medici in 1559.
Brazil has been the world’s largest tobacco exporter for 25 years. In the world of leaf tobacco, the countries of China, America and Italy, Belgium are the main annual buyers of almost half a million tons.
Brazil is the second-largest producer of tobacco in the world and the leader in exports since 1993, thanks to the quality and integrity of the product, following the strictest international standards. This country produces more than 700 thousand tons of tobacco annually.
It is one of the main products of the country’s trade balance, which is cultivated in the southern regions of Brazil.
Despite a sharp decline in smoking prevalence since the 1990s, Brazil has become a world exporter of cigarettes, selling almost 90 percent of its production to other countries.
For the southern region of Brazil, tobacco is one of the most important agricultural and industrial activities. This product is grown in 508 different cities in southern Brazil. It creates employment for 138 thousand small-scale farmers and creates 40 thousand direct and indirect industrial jobs.
Basic Development
Tobacco has been consumed in the Americas since ancient times, until European settlers went there and introduced this experience to Europe, where it became very popular. Many Native American tribes traditionally cultivated and consumed tobacco in plantations in Mexico between 1400 and 1000 BC.
Eastern North American tribes carried large quantities of tobacco in pouches as an acceptable trade item, and usually smoked it in peace pipes (a kind of pipe) at sacred commemorations or to seal deals.
In such cases, tobacco was smoked at all stages of life, even in childhood. They believed that tobacco is a gift from the Creator and its exhaled smoke is the carrier of man’s thoughts and prayers to heaven.
Before the development of the (Etter Virginia) and (White Burley) breeds, tobacco smoke was very mild and could not be inhaled by Native Americans and Europeans who consumed it in the form of pipes or cigarettes. Inhaling (mild) tobacco smoke into the lungs without serious short-term damage requires inhaling small amounts of it through pipes such as midwachs or kiseros or new water pipes such as bongs or hookahs.
Popularity
After Europeans arrived in America, the popularity of tobacco increased as a commercial commodity. It also boosted the economy of the southern United States until it was replaced by cotton.
After the American Civil War, a change in the demand for tobacco, as well as the labor force, led the inventor, James Bonsack, to invent a machine that automated the production of cigarettes.
This increase in production led to the rapid growth of the tobacco industry until the scientific discoveries of the middle of the 20th century. The tobacco that we use in cigarettes every day and enjoy smoking must be grown in special conditions to be of good quality. Where are these special conditions found? The best climate for germinating and growing tobacco is in relatively warm areas with a temperature of 20 to 30 degrees, and the temperature does not rise above 35 degrees during the growth of the plant. It is better to grow this plant in a place that does not tolerate a temperature difference of more than 10 degrees during the whole planting period until picking.
Proper irrigation will also have a significant effect on the quality of the final tobacco. Watering should be done at regular intervals so that enough water reaches the plant, but not more than the plant needs, that is, the plant should not be flooded; Because although excessive watering of the tobacco plant makes it grow faster, nicotine reduces it and therefore the tobacco that is finally obtained will not be suitable for use in cigarettes.
Tobacco can grow in almost all types of soil, and in all soils, if it is properly maintained, quality tobacco is obtained. The final color of tobacco leaves depends on the color of the soil in which the plant is planted.
Lighter soil will eventually produce lighter leaves. Of course, the high darkness of industrial cigarette tobacco has another reason in addition to depending on the type of soil in which it is grown:
Chemical additives!
What process does the tobacco leaf go through after being picked to be ready for consumption?
We said that the tobacco we smoke in a cigarette is a plant leaf; But what we kill is not similar to leaves and plants! The tobacco we use in cigarettes changes its shape during a process so that it can be used in cigarettes.
In fact, after being picked, tobacco leaves must be carefully separated from their stems and then dried to become usable tobacco. If the drying process is to be done naturally, it takes about two years.
In order for the tobaccos to work faster, they are hung with special care and in suitable environments and are exposed to heat so that the drying process of the leaves goes faster. After the leaves are completely dried, they are crushed and ready to be consumed.
It is interesting to know that one of the main differences between industrial cigarettes and organic tobacco is that in industrial cigarettes, except for the leaves of the tobacco plant, which have the main properties, other parts of this plant, such as its stem, are chopped and mixed with dried leaves. While organic tobaccos do not have any additives to the chopped leaves of the plant.
What is the difference between industrial cigarettes and hand-rolled cigarettes?
Factory-made cigarettes sold in packets are easily accessible to everyone, but we insist that hand-rolled cigarettes are better and better than that! But why?
The most important difference between hand-made cigarettes and industrial cigarettes is that they are pure. In your cigar, you use high-quality and pure shredded tobacco leaves that do not have any chemical or natural additives.
In many industrial cigarettes, a variety of chemical additives such as paraffin, artificial colors and preservatives are mixed with tobacco, and for this reason, industrial cigarettes have more tar.
Also, tobacco itself does not only include the leaves of this plant, but the stem of this plant is also chopped and added to the ingredients, which reduces the quality of your cigarette and changes its taste. In general, the taste of hand-rolled cigarettes is purer, and its smell is less than that of industrial cigarettes.
The difference between tobacco and tobacco; What is tobacco?
Tobacco is one of the types of plants that were first used in North America. This plant has a special smell that can be smelled due to the presence of an oil called nicotine in it. This plant is used because it contains nicotine. People’s lungs are absorbed by the body. Nicotine causes chemical reactions in the body and makes people feel refreshed and tired.
As we know, the cigarette industry is one of the most profitable industries in the world, and in any region that has a moderate climate, you can plant and cultivate tobacco, which can bring a high income to farmers.
How to use Tobacco
As you know, the tobacco plant has wide and single leaves, and it is used in the tobacco and tobacco industry to produce different types of cigarettes.
To use the tobacco plant, first they collect its leaves and spread them on the ground and dry them using sunlight and dry air, then they are converted into cigarettes by crushing the dried leaves in cigarette factories. It is smoked and spread all over the world.
This plant is one of the types of smoke-producing plants, which, of course, has some medicinal properties and is used in the treatment of some diseases. It can be said that the amount of protein and amino acids in this plant is more than soy plant and this makes people use it.
In general, the protein in the column is more than the casein protein in milk, the amount of casein protein in milk is equal, and this increases energy in people. It also has medicinal properties and protein production.
The difference between tobacco and tobacco; What is the tobacco plant?
Tobacco is another smoke-producing plant that many Iranian families also use and use a device called a hookah. The use of tobacco has been popular among people since the distant past, and this has made this plant popular among people, but gradually due to the complications caused by tobacco use, it has become a harmful plant that many people stop using it.
This plant has pathogenic properties such as cancer, which has caused it to spread among international communities. Consumption of this plant can endanger people’s health and cause many respiratory problems for them.
As explained, tobacco is a plant that also has medicinal properties, and despite the proteins in it, it is also considered one of the medicinal substances and has medicinal and therapeutic uses.
The amount of protein in this plant is equal to milk, and it is more than soy plant, and this has caused researchers to use this plant to treat some diseases.
But tobacco is actually the dried leaf of the tobacco plant, which does not have medicinal properties and is used only as a smoking agent, which of course contains nicotine and can deliver the nicotine needed by people’s bodies.
Tobacco is one of the most important causes of serious injuries and dangerous diseases such as lung cancer and even oral cancer, which unfortunately, despite all the injuries it causes, even those under 15 years of age tend to use it.
Growing Tobacco
There are many ways to grow this plant, but all tobacco plants require strict care to obtain a quality plant.
1- Tobacco seeds should be mixed with fertilizer and corn and cotton flour before planting. In hot areas, the eggs are covered with a cotton cloth, but in cold areas, this is done with glass wool.
2- In most mountainous areas with moderate humidity, the plant grows about 20 cm within 6 to 10 weeks, and during this period, 4 to 6 leaves appear on the seedling. At this stage, the plant is ready to be transferred to fields that have been carefully prepared and fertilized.
3- When the bushes start to flower, the tip of each one is cut so that the leaves become thicker and bolder. 3 or 4 months after placing the seedling in the field, the plant is ready to harvest.
4- Two methods are used for harvesting. Picking ripe leaves or cutting the stem
– Picking ripe leaves: in this method, each leaf is plucked separately. Every week, 2 to 4 leaves are removed from a plant, and this type of harvesting lasts 5 to 8 weeks.
– Cutting the stem: in this method, after the leaves grow, the plant is picked from the stem.
5- After harvesting, the so-called tobacco must be cured. The purpose of this is to dry the leaves and create a true color in them. A tobacco leaf can be cured by heat, air or sun.
– Curing with heat: In this method, green tobacco leaves are hung in a small insulated hay barn that is heated by steam.
– Air curing: This method is useful for leaves harvested by stem picking method, which must be exposed to air.
Sun Curing: Other forms of tobacco are cured in proximity to sunlight, so they should be hung in front of the sun.
6- The final stage, which is called aging in English, is the improved leaf care stage that takes place to make the leaves mature and improve their taste.
Types of Brazilian Tobacco
Affiliated companies of SindiTabaco in southern Brazil produce leaf tobacco from Nicotianatabacum, a species of alder, which is subjected to a natural or artificial curing process and used for smoking, shredding and other designated purposes. Tobacco produced in the three southern states of Brazil is divided into the following two groups:
* Air dried tobacco
The leaves of this group are dried in naturally ventilated warehouses and the preparation process takes about 40 days. In the south of Brazil, two species of this group result, Burley and GalpãoComum, both dark and their share in the total volume of Brazilian tobacco is approximately 14% and 1%, respectively.
* Heat-cured tobacco
This group includes light-colored leaf tobaccos that are cured in warehouses under controlled temperature and humidity levels and finish in five to seven days. This group includes all Virginia species, which includes 85% of the volume produced in Brazil.
To import tobacco from Brazil, you can contact the consultants of Atra Atlas Trading Holding.