Mayan Tobacco History

According to Huron Indian myth, in ancient time, when the lands were barren and people were starving, the ‘Great Spirit’ sent forth a woman to save humanity. As she travelled over the world, where over her right hand touched the soil potatoes grew, where over her left hand touched, the soil corn grew and when the soil became rich and fertile, she sat down and rested, when she stood up tobacco grew on the place where she was resting (5).Tobacco has a long history in the Americas. The Mayan Indians of Mexico carved drawings in stone showing tobacco use. These drawings date back to somewhere between 600 to 900 A.D. Americans Indians grew tobacco before the Europeans came from England, Spain, France, and Italy to North America (6).It was not

Smoking tobacco Other forms of tobacco

WORLD WIDE Cigarette, Beedis, Cigars, Kreteks,

Pipes, Sticks Smokless:betel quid(paan), Zarda, kiwam, mishri, gutka Moist snuff: khaini, naswar, shammah

SOUTH ASIA Beedis, cigarettes, Cigars, cheroots, Chuttas, reverse chuttas smoking, Dhumti, reverse Dhumti smoking, Pipes, Hooklis, chillum, hookah Smokless:pan-betel quid with tobacco, pan masala, tobacco Areca nut and slaked lime preparation,

Mainpuri rabacoo, mawa,suns Moist snuff: khahini, creamy snuff (naswar), tobacco water

In past, tobacco was often chewed, or smoked in various kinds of pipes. These practices persist while now manufactured cigarettes and rolled by hand called beedis-common in south Asia. India now account for up to 85 percent of all tobacco consumed worldwide (8). 80% of tobacco use is in the form of cigarettes while other form of tobacco use also prevail in some countries like India, Pakistan and Norway

Physician smokers and

Among them physician smokers ratio is 21% currently smoking. Importantly most of them start smoking in their study life.14% of them quit smoking during their clinical practice and about 9% are occasional smokers.(9) According to another study which was held in Karachi government and private hospitals Prevalence of smoking was 29%. High prevalence of smoking was among male doctors as compared to female doctors. Sixty-eight per cent of smokers started smoking between 20 to 30 years of age.(10)This current study is consistent with other Pakistani studies showing that rate of prevalence of smoking is low as compare to other Asian, African and European studies with in medical schools, which reported rates between 22 to 45%.(11)However some developed countries like USA and Ireland reported less rates than this