How Europe fell in love with tobacco

Throughout the ages, man-kind has always had a profound relationship with fire and smoke. Whether the comfort of huddling up by a warm fire on a cold night or the rituals of shamanic cultures where smoke is used to purify the soul, the act of burning has many meanings and uses.

The material that is burned has a big impact on the smoke too. Burning sage is meant to cleanse the air and ward off evil spirits (as well as smelling sublime), while burning citronella oil repels mosquitoes. The leaves of the tobacco plant had long been smoked for supposed medicinal purposes in the New World, but it was only when Italian Columbus sailed to Central America, that Europe discovered the secret pleasures of the plant. The original method of smoking tobacco was to roll a leaf from the tobacco plant around a cob of maize and light it.

When Columbus brought tobacco back to Europe it was considered exotic and a prized gift. But it was only when French ambassador Jean Nicot, returning from Portugal, gifted tobacco to the French Royal Family that it really took off. Then Queen Mother, Florentine Catherine de’ Medici took to it instantly, giving the extraordinary new remedy her glowing endorsement. As a result, tobacco became popular with the fashionable people of Paris, making Jean Nicot quite the celebrity.

As a result, both a species of tobacco plant, Nicotania and nicotine itself, were named after him and the popularity of this new product spread far and wide.