Kristi S. Warnstaff
914753840
Mini-Review
Will “Nightshade” Kill You? The Process of Making Tobacco
What is Tobacco and What is it known for?
Tobacco is the common name of the plant Nicotiana tabacum and N. rustica, found in the Nightshade family. It is a green, leafy plant and is known for the nicotine that lies within its leaves. Tobacco has more than 70 different species, but only two are used today. The most popular is N. tabacum and it has never been found to grow in the wild. Today, tobacco is smoked, chewed, and snuffed. It is grown throughout both North and South America. In the United States, its grown in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.
Cultivation and Harvesting
Germinating tobacco seeds are a very delicate thing to do. Seeds are spread out on the surface of a seedbed to be nursed until they are strong enough to be out in a field. The “nursery” takes about 2 months of supervising the growth of the plant and to control diseases and pests (Akehurst, 1968). Before replanting in a field, producers have to assess a field site. There needs to be a reliable
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The ingredients depend on the product that is being made; flavoring and other types of tobacco are some of the ingredients used. Computers in the factory keep track of the types of tobacco and the blends. Moreover, technology and machinery make the cigarettes and other various products. For example, when making cigarettes, the cutting of the tobacco, cigarette paper, and filters are fed continuously through a cigarette making machine (Van Willigin, Eastwood, 1998). Finally, the tobacco is packaged using packing machines. The machines put the products into brand packs, wrap the packs, and then put them into cartons and cases. The manufacturing sites distribute the tobacco to different companies to be sold, in the forms of cigarettes, snuff, cigars, and
Tobacco is connected with a number of negative effects in humans and a few other organisms. For example, the long list of negative effects range from birth defects and lessened lung capacity, to sexual impotence. All of the previously mentioned result from extended tobacco exposure in varying mediums and although they are negative effects associated with tobacco, it has also been proven that tobacco to acts as a stimulant to some animals (Nice 135). In studying how tobacco effects the body of any living being and its uses, over time new developments may progress that would allow us to use tobacco only for its positive effects while bypassing its negative ones.
Nonetheless, there is no product differentiation. This can be a negative aspect for the company, since the lawsuits against tobacco industry are mounting and are increasing threat for the company.
Tobacco was a main crop in colonial America that helped stabilize the economy (Cotton 1). Despite the fact that tobacco took the place of the other crops in Virginia, as well as replacing the hunt for gold with tobacco cultivation. It proved to be a major cash crop, especially in Virginia and Maryland (Weeks 3). Tobacco left many people financially troubled because other occupations were disregarded or not as profitable as tobacco farmers (Randel 128). The unemployment that tobacco brought about made many colonists poor and homeless (128). After the tobacco boom started, many men signed themselves to indentured servitude hoping to be freed and given land along with other promised goods (Tunis 79). Three hundred and fifty thousand African slaves were also imported to labor on large tobacco plantations in the South (Weeks 1). The tobacco industry had a profound effect on colonial America, socially and economically.
Tobacco cultivation: Tobacco was a poor man’s crop, it could be planted easily, it produced commercially marketable leaves within a year, and it required only simple processing.
To summerize, the discovery of tobacco in the Americas had lasting effects on the world. Across Europe, many began smoking because of the belief that tobacco was able to cure certain ailments. Also, tobacco became a symbol of high class so we see that many middle class people began to smoke. The demand in Europe for tobacco became very high causing the production of tobacco in the Americas to increase. Colonies were set up containing large plantations with many slaves to produce tobacco. Tobacco production made the producers very rich as the cash crop was very desirable. From the use of tobacco in ceremonies for the Aztecs and Mayans to the mass production of the crop in the Americas, tobacco created much change across the world.
After the tobacco crop is harvested, the next step is to cure the crop. Curing is done in a very methodical manner. First, the tobacco leaves are strung together with a cotton thread. They are then hung out to dry for a few months. They are then considered cured. After "curing" the leaves, the plant goes through a series of natural fermentation steps. The tobacco at this stage is graded according to size and quality. The leaves at this point are ready to be wrapped and rolled into cigars. Before this is to occur however, the tobacco leaves are arranged according to thickness and length to match the type of cigar that is to be produced.
Cigarettes are a thin cylinder of finely cut tobacco that is rolled in paper for smoking. There are also many manufactured cigarettes that also have filters on one end that are intended to trap some of the toxic chemicals contained in cigarette smoke. Tobacco and ammonia are contained inside cigarettes. Tobacco is a green, leafy plant that is grown in warm climates. Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3. With these conditions, cigarettes are hazardous to health. They also have a complex of 7,000 chemicals. Another important factor of what cigarettes contain is nicotine. Nicotine is a toxic colorless or yellowish oily liquid that is the chief active constituent of tobacco. Smoking cigarettes is a process where the inhalation of the gases and hydrocarbon vapors generated by slowly burning tobacco. With this technique, it becomes highly addictive
Encyclopaedia of Children’s (2013) stated that smoking is a form of inhalation of smoking from different forms of tobacco which include cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Cancer Research (2012) and the World Health Organisation (2013) have confirmed that most tobacco products contain very high level of nicotine which can have additive effect and are made from tobacco leaf which are s...
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery operated heating devices that work by turning nicotine into vapor that is inhaled to emulate smoking tobacco but without the harsh toxic chemicals attributed with smoking cigarettes. The liquid nicotine substance inserted in the e-cigarettes is primarily a solution of water, propylene glycol, glycerin, and small amounts of flavoring, available with or without nicotine that is vaporized by an internal heater (Popova 924). Furthermore, the amount of nicotine can be adjusted from nicotine free to extra strength. This allows users to control their amount of nicotine with the most promising option to be nicotine free or detached from the tobacco imitating device. E-cigarettes can be practically taken anywhere. Most are designed to resemble the typical cigarette and others may appear in a pen-like shape. Not to mention, the cost of e-cigarettes are relatively low compared to buying tobacco products. Given these points, e-cigarettes is a better solution to the discontinuance of smoking tobacco because it does not contain toxic chemicals associated with the smoke from cigarettes, it is a more affordable, and permits its users to control their nicotine intake to eventually curb the nicotine
Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental practice not only to the smoker, but also to everyone around the smoker. According to an article from the American Lung Association, “Health Effects” (n.d.), “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year”. The umbrella term for tobacco use includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs and chewing tobacco. While tobacco causes adverse health consequences, it also has been a unifying factor for change in public health. While the tobacco industries targets specific populations, public health specifically targets smokers, possible smokers, and the public to influence cessation, policies and education.
The tobacco industry has developed a rather large array of products. Companies such as Philip Morris, Lorillard, RJ Reynolds, and Brown and Williamson, as well as the other smaller competitors, all provide the same product- cigarettes. The tobacco industry is filled with fierce competitors. But underneath the brand names and images, the product is relatively the same. All tobacco companies produce an inhalant that is made with tobacco, tar, and nicotine. These materials are rolled in a special kind of slow-burning paper for longer smoking time.
A cigarette, briefly referred to as a cigar could simply be regarded as a paper wrapped roll of dry tobacco leaves which are smoothly cut. The finely cut dry leaves of tobacco are rolled to make a cylinder-like pipe which is used for smoking. A cigarette is light on one end while the other end is placed into the mouth of the smoker for inhaling. Most cigarettes have on one end a filter. Cigarettes may be made of either tobacco as earlier stated or from cloves, or cannabis. Normally a cigarette is smaller than a cigar.
The American Lung Association states “There are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes” (What's in a Cigarette? American Lung Association). Also when burned, cigarette smoke creates chemicals that affect our planet. “At least 50 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, and many are poisonous” (What's in a Cigarette? American Lung Association). The American Lung Association goes on and lists a few of the chemicals and gives a brief example for what they are used for.
The Internet is the Internet. Tobacco is the substance that is in these cigarettes. These tobacco products are promoted through tobacco ads that are found almost everywhere you turn. They are in magazines, television screens. on the internet and even in cigarette boxes themselves.
Smoking cigarettes is a very deadly addiction that, unfortunately, affects 42.1 million adults in the United States and 6.4 million children. The reason why so many people get addicted to cigarettes is because of nicotine. Medicinenet.com says that nicotine is “made by the tobacco plant or produced synthetically”. Nicotine has powerful pharmacologic effects (including increased heart rate, heart stroke volume, and oxygen consumption by the heart muscle), as well as powerful psychodynamic effects (such as euphoria, increased alertness, and a sense of relaxation). Nicotine is also powerfully addictive.”