Smoke Signals: The Healing Power of Tobacco 🌱
How traditional cultures harnessed tobacco as a tool for physical and spiritual healing, and how today's commercialized consumption of tobacco threatens our well-being. 🚬
Tobacco has a reputation as one of the world's most dangerous plants.
There's no denying its connections to a shocking number of deaths worldwide. But is the plant to blame, or is overuse a symptom of rampant addiction in the modern world?
In many cultures, tobacco is still revered as sacred and used with care and intention. When taken as part of ceremonies, made as an offering, and as a vehicle for prayer, tobacco has another form not forgotten.
Tobacco use spans at least 12,000 years in the Americas but only reached its current addictive form after Spanish colonization.
Before contact, tobacco use by first nations in North and South America was common but rarely chronic. Tobacco trade and cultivation were widespread. Smoke and topical applications were medical treatments, and in the Amazon, tabaqueros would eat or even perform enemas with tobacco. Snuffs were also important shamanic tools and are experiencing a resurgence today.
Some tribes see tobacco as a practical medicine, leveraging its anti-microbial and painkilling properties.
Modern research has even uncovered how tobacco interacts with the so-called "nicotinic system" to induce psychoactive effects. Nicotine and other compounds that interact with this system can indeed cause altered states of consciousness, particularly at high doses. This ranges from stimulation to hallucination. It's useful as both a nootropic to improve focus and a relaxant to take the edge off.
But perhaps the most important lesson from the shamanic use of tobacco is that of intentional use. It was not habitually consumed but kept sacred. In the Amazon, its considered an amplifier of intent, a connection to spirit, and is often an essential part of ayahuasca ceremonies.
In North American tribes, smoking is a ritual and offering of prayer for the fire. Respect for its consciousness-altering effects exists and is utilized, but in ancient times, it was not a vice.
While it is clear that tobacco can cause great harm, is it fair to blame a plant for how people choose to use it?
Paying attention to and respecting the traditional use of plants can inform modern use instead of disregarding people's sustained use without harm for thousands of years.
Getting to Know Tobacco
Tobacco (Nicotiana spp.) is the common name for over 79 species of plants listed in the nightshade family (Solanaceae).
The most common species of tobacco used today is Nicotiana tabacum. This is the main form used in commercial tobacco used all over the world. Other species, such as Nicotiana rustica and Nicotiana glauca (tree tobacco), are sometimes used as well.
The nightshade family contains over 2700 species, including a variety of medicinally relevant species (datura, brugemansia, and belladonna, for example), various toxic species (such as mandrake and henbane), as well as many common vegetables (tomato, eggplant, peppers, and potatoes).
Tobacco originated in South America and the Caribbean. It thrives in wet, hot, sunny environments but can be found as far north as Southern Ontario. Tobacco does not tolerate frost well. There are a few species of tobacco believed to be native to Australia, too.
Evidence of tobacco use in Mexico dates back to at least 1000 BC, but many scholars believe it was carried North from its native Brazil and Colombia by indigenous groups much earlier than that.
Tobacco use has been ubiquitous across the Americas long before the European colonizers ever arrived. The only groups in North America not reported to have used tobacco are the Inuit and other groups of the far North where tobacco can't grow.
After the English, Dutch, and Spanish colonizers invaded South America, they immediately took a liking to tobacco. Spanish colonizers brought tobacco plants and their seeds back with them to Europe where it was absorbed by the culture in a very short period of time. By the early 1700s, Europe already had a booming tobacco industry.
Tobacco Pharmacology: How it Works
Everybody knows the active ingredient in tobacco is nicotine, but there are at least 4000 other compounds contained within the leaves as well — many of which are also medicinal.
Nicotine
The function of nicotine in the plant is to protect it from insects. Only a few species of caterpillar (such as the tobacco hornworm) have evolved resistance to the presence of nicotine. It's a complicated relationship, though, because while just a handful of juvenile caterpillars can consume an entire tobacco plant in a matter of days, the moth it develops into later in life is one of the plant's primary pollinators.
Nicotine is a fascinating compound because while it's toxic in high concentrations, it's also powerfully medicinal when used in the proper dosage.
Pure nicotine is so toxic just one or two drops placed on the tongue or allowed to soak into the skin is enough to kill an adult human.
The reason we can smoke the plant is because the heat from combustion destroys a large portion of the nicotine content. The same goes when eating or drinking tobacco preparations — our stomach acid destroys the majority of the nicotine before it's absorbed.
Wild tobacco contains up to 20% nicotine — but the tobacco used for commercial cigarettes normally contains closer to 2%. Even in lower concentrations, if the heat from combustion didn't destroy the nicotine, it would only take a couple of cigarettes to become lethal.
Nicotine toxicity is also self-limiting. People who smoke too much tobacco feel nauseous and dizzy. Most users stop smoking long before they approach a fatal dose.
Now onto the medicinal side of this multifaceted chemical…
The benefits of nicotine are far-reaching and impressive — but only when used correctly.
Hint: commercial cigarettes are not considered "correct" by anybody with traditional knowledge of tobacco. They should be avoided entirely.
Cultures that have used tobacco as medicine tend to view it as a source of power. It's used as an "amplifier of intent" — whether those intentions are good or bad is up to the individual using it.
For use in healing, a traditional tabaquero (a shaman specializing in the use of tobacco) would consume tobacco with the intent to heal. Others use tobacco with the intention of hunting, divination, or malice.
The nicotine inside the plant plays a key role in tobacco's medicinal value. The species of tobacco that were most desired as medicine (such as Nicotiana rustica), as well as specific subspecies found in the wild, directly correlate with plants that contain the highest amounts of nicotine.
Nicotine works through the acetylcholine system. The primary receptor in this system is called the nicotinic receptor. Acetylcholine (the neurotransmitter) is an ancient molecule found in all vertebrates as well as bacteria and algae.
We have nicotinic receptors in our muscles, skin, lungs, brain, adrenal glands, immune system, digestive system, blood, sex glands, and virtually every major organ system in the body.
It's easy to see why nicotine has such a profound impact on the body when you consider how widespread its target receptors are.
The primary medicinal functions of nicotine (beyond the spiritual implications of the herb as a sacred plant teacher) comes down to 6 main effects — all of which are a bit of a double-edged sword:
Nicotine stimulates the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline — This is what gives tobacco its stimulating, nootropic effects and gives people a nice rush after smoking. However, when overused, this can cause chronic stress and burnout.
Nicotine stimulates the production of red blood cells — This is very useful for improving one's vital energy, but it can also speed up the growth of cancer cells if used in excess.
Nicotine dulls a hyperactive immune function — This makes it extremely useful for managing an autoimmune disease or suppressing chronic inflammation, but it can also suppress the immune system when overused.
Nicotine stimulates the production of sex hormones — Nicotine has been shown to increase testosterone in men when used in moderation.
Nicotine is a powerful painkiller — It works by increasing the threshold for pain in a similar way to opiates like morphine. However, people who use too much tobacco become desensitized to this effect and may instead develop a lower pain tolerance threshold.
Nicotine + harmala alkaloids (more on these later) are hallucinogenic — Few people think of tobacco as hallucinogenic, but anybody who's tried the strong, dark tobacco used in the Amazon rainforest would likely agree there is a strong visionary component to this plant. This visionary element of tobacco is a key element of its use in spiritual medicine.
As with all things, the key to using tobacco as a medicine rather than a poison is through moderation and mindful intention.
Harmala Alkaloids
Nicotiana plants contain a variety of harmala alkaloids — which are also active ingredients in plants like Banisteriopsis caapi (the ayahuasca vine) and Harmala peganum (Syrian rue).
Plants rich in harmala alkaloids are mixed with DMT-containing plants like Mimosa hostilis or Psychotria viridis to create the visionary plant brew, ayahuasca.
Interestingly, tobacco has close synergy with ayahuasca as well. Mapacho (a traditional Amazonian tobacco preparation) is routinely provided to those partaking in an ayahuasca ceremony. Tobacco is thought to help guide and protect users throughout the journey.
Just as the traditional understanding of tobacco considers it an "amplifier," — the harmala alkaloids are powerful amplifiers of other psychoactive compounds — including both DMT and nicotine.
Harmala alkaloids work by blocking the effects of monoamine oxidase (MAO), which is an enzyme responsible for breaking down neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, as well as serotonergic drugs such as DMT (dimethyltryptamine). By blocking the MAO that quickly deactivates DMT, the harmala alkaloids potentiate and allow for its powerful mind-expanding effects. Ayahuasca simply would not work without the presence of harmala alkaloids.
The main harmala alkaloids contained in tobacco include harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine.
Two other alkaloids, harman and norharman, are found specifically in tobacco smoke but not in the plant itself. These compounds are created as a byproduct of combustion, and both are believed to have mild hallucinogenic qualities of their own.
Other Ingredients in Tobacco
Tobacco contains dozens of other active ingredients — albeit in much lower concentrations. Most of them have not been formally studied.
A few of these compounds include:
Germacrenes — A group of sesquiterpene essential oils that provide a pleasant spice-like flavor in tobacco as well as some anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory effects.
Anabasine — A pyridine and piperidine alkaloid with a similar structure to nicotine. This compound also binds to the nicotinic receptors.
Other piperidine alkaloids — Nicotine and anabasine are both classified as piperidine alkaloids, but there are dozens of other, poorly studied members of this group in tobacco too.
Disrespecting Tobacco's Sacred Roots: Commercialization of Cigarettes
Let me be super clear here — I am not advocating for the unrestrained use of tobacco.
There is a massive difference between the conscious and intentional use of tobacco as a medicine and the mainstream commercialized use of tobacco cigarettes, dip, or nicotine-containing vapes.
Tobacco is a powerful plant teacher with an impressive arsenal of medicinal constituents — including, but not limited to, nicotine. Tapping into this healing potential requires moderation.
Traditional cultures that used tobacco didn't suffer from lung or mouth cancers because there were protocols and rituals in place that prevented them from overdoing it.
Virtually all indigenous cultures in North and South America that consumed tobacco relied on ritual as a core part of the process.
In some cases, this involved the application of a special pipe used only for religious ceremonies or to seal agreements with neighboring bands. In other cases, it involved a symbolic gift-giving process to thank the creator for providing nourishment and medicine in the form of plants and animals prior to smoking.
The mindless puffing away on cigarette after cigarette while watching TV or doom-scrolling social media doesn't even remotely compare to the way indigenous cultures used the plant.
When you consider tobacco as an "amplifier of intent," you have to apply tobacco intentionally to the mindstates you want to amplify. Applying this tool to mindless or harmful mental states is only going to make matters worse.
I'll leave you off with some guidelines I believe are essential for using tobacco as a medicine rather than a poison:
Don't smoke commercial cigarettes — Buy high-quality tobacco and roll them up yourself. Check out this list of commercial cigarette additives and smoke toxicology analysis.
Don't consume tobacco during the day — Only in the evenings. This one came from Rafael Pizuri.
Don't exceed 3 cigarettes per day.
Don't smoke every day.
Always use tobacco with intention — Never use tobacco while performing mindless tasks, such as watching television or scrolling social media. Allow the intention-expanding capacities of tobacco to help you grow and heal rather than decay.
Adopt some form of ritual around your tobacco use — meditate, journal, or go on nature walks.
Further Reading
The Spirit's Call: Shamanism, Neo-Shamanism, & Altered States of Consciousness (Tripsitter)
Nature's Unforgiving Bloom: A Dive into Datura (Tripsitter)
Smoke & Mirrors: Revealing the Truth Behind Smoking Cessation With Psychedelics (Tripsitter)
Plant Teachers: Ayahuasca, Tobacco, & the Pursuit of Knowledge (Jeremy Narby & Rafael Pizuri)
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