4 ms·

This is what I do not get. Is it the smoke that is bad or the tobacco? If it is the tobacco it must frigging be the most dangerous material on earth. What other

• qayxc 3y ago
  > What other plant kills you just from chewing it? There's plenty. They're just not common in western cultures. Khat causes oral cancer, for example, but outside of Africa and parts of west Asia it's basically non-existent as a drug. Chewing areca nuts wrapped in betel leaves can also cause cancer in the oral region, but is only commonly consumed in south-east Asia and largely unknown in the rest of the world. And these are just examples of plants that are used recreationally/in cultural ritual - certain herbs and plenty of plants in general will kill you outright if you consume too much of them or eat/drink the wrong thing while doing so.
• plorkyeran 3y ago
  Both are bad. Tobacco is a poisonous plant which we consume because some of the effects of the poison are considered good. Inhaling smoke is also bad for you. There's a lot of plants which will have undesirable effects if you chew on their leaves, but in most cases they don't also have desirable effects so no one does it.
• mr_toad 3y ago
  Many toxic chemicals can increase your risk of cancer, and many plants contain toxic chemicals, often to stop animals chewing on them. Nicotine is a toxic chemical, but it could be others.
• pcthrowaway 3y ago
  Heck, tea greatly increases your risk of oral, throat, and esophegal cancer just from the heat. Countries where tea is traditionally drank after being freshly brewed have a much higher incidence of these