ABSTRACT
Name: nicotine Use: pesticide, drug in tobacco Source: tobacco Recommended daily intake: none (not essential) Absorption: lung, skin, stomach (poor), intestine (better), (poor absorption
in the stomach because nicotine is a strong base) Sensitive individuals: fetus, children Toxicity/symptoms: dependency producing, acute effects: nausea, vomiting,
salivation, diarrhea, dizziness, mental confusion, weakness Regulatory facts: RfD (none), LD50 10 mg/kg General facts: long history of use, produces dependency in user Environmental: growing demand for cigarettes in developing countries Recommendations: avoid
Tobacco was a powerful medicine for the first people of the Americas. Native Californian tribes trace the origins of tobacco to sacred immortals that first inhabited the land. The immortals gave tobacco to the humans to heal and guide them from the ancient past to the present and beyond: it was part of creation. Medicine doctors and shaman relied upon tobacco for guidance, a source of strength and part of the healing ritual. Tobacco was sacred, not to be rapidly consumed in the doorway of a back alley. As Julian Lang suggested, the warning on a pack of cigarettes should be “Use of this product should be restricted to prayerful or religious activity, or social activity which reflects aspects of the Creation” (Lang, 1997).
