Tobacco is a name for any plant of the genus Nicotiana of the Solanaceae family (nightshade family) and for the product manufactured from the leaf and used in cigars and cigarettes, snuff, and pipe and chewing tobacco.

An agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana, tobacco can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines.

Tobacco had long been in use as an entheogen in the Americas, but upon the arrival of Europeans in North America, it quickly became popularized as a trade item and a widely abused drug.

This popularization led to the development of the southern economy of the United States until it gave way to cotton.

Following the American Civil War, a change in demand and a change in labor force allowed for the development of the cigarette.

This new product quickly led to the growth of tobacco companies.

Most commonly used as a drug, tobacco is today a valuable cash crop for countries such as Cuba, China and the United States.

The alkaloid nicotine is the most characteristic constituent of tobacco and is responsible for its addictive nature