1. The Origin and Spread of Tobacco

Tobacco originated in the United States, Oceania and some islands in the South Pacific. At present, 66 species have been discovered, and only two species are cultivated and utilized, namely N.tabacum.L., also known as N. tabacum, and N. tabacum L. (Nrustica L.). The American Indians were the first to cultivate and utilize tobacco. In October 1492, Columbus led an expedition to America and saw the locals smoking. In 1558, sailors brought tobacco seeds back to Portugal, and then spread them throughout Europe. Tobacco was introduced to China in the mid-16th century. The first to be introduced was sun-dried tobacco, which has been cultivated for more than 400 years. In 1900, flue-cured tobacco was tested in Taiwan. Since 1910, flue-cured tobacco has been successfully tested in Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Liaoning and other places. From 1937 to 1940, trials were started in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, and it developed into the main production of high-quality tobacco in my country. district. Oriental tobacco was introduced in the 1950s, and burley tobacco was introduced in the 1960s. They were successfully trialed in Xinchang, Zhejiang, and Jianshi, Hubei. Yellow flower smoke was introduced to northern my country from Russia about 200 years ago.

2. Current status of tobacco production and its important role

Tobacco is an important economic crop. Smoking is an indispensable part of the cultural life of hundreds of millions of smokers. It is also an important source of income for national and local finances and taxes, and is highly valued by relevant departments. In 1984, my country established the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration to provide unified leadership and comprehensive management of the production and sales business of the tobacco industry. Tobacco leaf production adheres to the policy of "planned planting, high quality and suitable yield, focusing on quality, insisting on reform, and improving efficiency", and vigorously promotes the scientific tobacco planting measures of "regionalization, improved varieties, and standardization", which has enabled my country's tobacco production to make great progress. In the 1980s, the average annual tobacco planting area in my country was about 20 million acres, with a total output of more than 40 million dan. From 1990 to 1997, the average annual area reached 25 million acres, with a total output of about 60 million dan. The area of ??improved varieties has reached more than 95%, and the quality of tobacco leaves has been significantly improved. The upper and middle grade tobacco has increased from 60% to 80%, and the top grade tobacco has reached 20%. Tobacco is a high-yield crop. Most of my country's tobacco areas are in economically backward and poor areas. There are 2 million farmers and about 100 million people relying on tobacco to maintain their lives. Planting one mu of tobacco can earn 1,000 to 2,000 yuan in cash that year, which is 3 to 5 times that of food crops. It is an effective way for farmers in mountainous areas to get rid of poverty and become rich and improve their living standards. Tobacco is a commodity with high tax and profit, with agricultural tax and profit of about 30% and industrial tax and profit of more than 60%. There are 300 million smokers in our country, each of whom can consume 2,000 cigarettes per year, creating wealth for the country day and night. In 1995, tobacco industrial and commercial taxes and profits were 71 billion yuan, in 1998 it was 95 billion yuan, and in 2000 it could reach 100 billion yuan, accounting for 10% of the national fiscal revenue. It ranked first among all industries and provided huge funds for national construction and improving people's lives. . Yunnan Province is a famous tobacco industry province. In 1996, more than 6 million acres of tobacco were planted, with a total output of more than 7 million tons of tobacco leaves and 7 million boxes of cigarettes. The tax profit from "two cigarettes" exceeded 30 billion yuan, accounting for 10% of Yunnan Province's fiscal revenue. 70% of the income has made an important contribution to the economic development of Yunnan Province.

3. Development Trend

Currently, the tobacco industry is facing new situations and challenges. With the improvement of people's living standards, the impact of smoking on people's health has attracted more and more attention. Although there are still different opinions, most countries promote smoking cessation. The world stipulates that May 31st every year is the "World No Tobacco Day", restricting smoking in public places, and some countries have even passed laws to ban smoking and claim compensation from tobacco companies for the huge losses caused by smoking. Even the world's largest tobacco company, Philip Morris of the United States, has acknowledged the harm caused by smoking. The number of smokers in the United States and the United Kingdom has decreased by more than 20%, and Singapore strives to become a non-smoking country. It seems to be a foregone conclusion that smoking is harmful to health. The main substance harmful to health of smoking is the tar produced during the burning process of tobacco leaves, which has a carcinogenic effect on the human trachea and lungs. Producing low-tar cigarettes for people's health and improving the safety of smoking have become popular all over the world and are the future development direction of the tobacco industry. Flue-cured tobacco leaves have a high tar content, while air-cured tobacco leaves have a low tar content.

Adding 30% to 40% of sun-dried tobacco leaves to flue-cured tobacco leaves to develop hybrid cigarettes is one of the effective measures to produce low-tar cigarettes. Foreign hybrid cigarettes were developed early, progress quickly, have many brands, and are of good quality. The tar content has been reduced to less than 12 mg/cigarette, accounting for more than 70% of the entire cigarette market. Ultra-low tar cigarettes (below 6 mg/cigarette) are also developing. . There is a big gap in our country. Mixed cigarettes were developed late, with few brands, poor quality, and poor sales, accounting for only 5% of the market. Flue-cured cigarettes still dominate the market, with tar content above 15 mg/cigarette and poor safety. After joining the WTO, foreign low-tar mixed cigarettes will definitely enter China in large quantities, and our country's cigarette market will be severely impacted. It is a very urgent task for my country's tobacco industry to vigorously develop low-tar cigarettes, improve the safety of smoking, enhance competitiveness with foreign cigarettes, maintain the domestic market, and prevent the outflow of financial resources.

4. Vision

The train of history has entered the 21st century. The 21st century is an era when people are moving towards modernization, living standards are improving, and they are happier and better. Smoking, which is harmful to people's health, will definitely be subject to more stringent restrictions. Tobacco's use in cigarettes will certainly be greatly diminished. So, has the role of tobacco in the national economy been reduced? uncertain. Because tobacco's many potential uses in developing food and pharmaceutical resources will continue to be discovered and utilized, its future is promising. Tobacco will not lose its status as an important cash crop. Tobacco leaves are rich in protein, about 10% in flue-cured tobacco, and as high as 20% in sun-cured tobacco and burley tobacco. Tobacco has strong regeneration ability and can be harvested multiple times a year. The yield of tobacco leaves is high. Using fresh tobacco leaves to extract protein, the yield per mu can exceed that of soybeans, and other crops are incomparable. The protein extracted from tobacco leaves can be used to make a variety of foods and has a wide range of uses. The remaining tobacco leaves can still be used as raw materials for cigarettes. Nicotine extracted from tobacco leaves can be made into medicines to prevent and treat people's diseases, and pesticides can be made into pesticides to prevent and treat crop pests. The prospects are also promising. Tobacco is a well-known model crop. It can be used as a bioreactor to introduce anti-cancer, anti-AIDS, and genes beneficial to people's health from other crops into tobacco, so that they can be fully expressed, and then extracted using biotechnology, which can be processed into drugs that can cure diseases and strengthen the body. The "magic bullet". For example, American scientists have successfully cultivated tobacco antibodies and extracted anti-cancer and anti-viral interferins from them, which have a good therapeutic effect on lung cancer. Swedish scientists injected human genes into tobacco plants and extracted blood protein activators from harvested tobacco leaves, which can treat heart disease and other diseases. It can be seen that the potential health benefits of tobacco are no less than the economic role played by cigarettes.

5. Development and Utilization Prospects

Today, "smoking is harmful to health" is a global concern. Every cigarette-producing country in the world is vigorously developing low-tar hybrid cigarettes. In order to adapt to the new situation of the international tobacco industry, my country's Tobacco Monopoly Administration has proposed the strategic policy of "transforming flue-cured tobacco and developing hybrid tobacco". Tobacco production and the cigarette industry are undergoing a difficult strategic shift. Further adjusting and improving the structure and layout of tobacco production to meet the needs of the new development of the tobacco industry is an urgent task for people from all walks of life and the tobacco industry.

Improve the quality of flue-cured tobacco and reduce the planting area

In the past 50 years, in order to meet the needs of the cigarette industry, China has vigorously developed flue-cured tobacco production. The flue-cured tobacco planting area accounts for about 90% of the country's tobacco area. Mainly concentrated in Yunnan, Guizhou, Henan, Gainan, Shandong and other places. Among them, Yunnan tobacco leaves are famous throughout the country for their refreshing fragrance and strong flavor. They are an indispensable main raw material for the production of high-end cigarettes. They were once a hot commodity that major cigarette factories competed for. However, the overall quality of domestic tobacco leaves is low, and there is a certain gap between the appearance quality and flavor of tobacco leaves compared with tobacco leaves from abroad, especially the United States. The export price abroad is low and the use value is not high, and it can only be used as filler. The reasons are as follows: First, tobacco production is not strictly arranged according to tobacco planting zoning. There are still many areas that are not suitable for growing tobacco and the tobacco leaves produced are of poor quality. Second, fertilization is unreasonable and soil testing and fertilization are not implemented effectively. Some tobacco areas, especially Yunnan, have applied too much fertilizer in recent years. The tobacco leaves have grown too large and their flavor has decreased, resulting in Yunnan tobacco leaves being unsaleable. For example, "Hongtashan", which has been popular for many years, has also been overstocked and has fallen to the bottom. Third, the tobacco leaves are not mature enough, the phenomenon of raw harvesting is common, and the aroma of the baked tobacco leaves is poor. Fourth, the baking room is crude and the baking technology is backward.

The structure of most curing houses in our country is unscientific, especially in the southern tobacco areas. Most of them still use the old curing houses from the 1970s, which cannot heat up well and dehumidify well. In addition, the baking technology is not mastered well, making it difficult to bake high-quality tobacco leaves. Fifth, tobacco farmers do not have strong awareness of quality, are not proficient in mastering scientific and new technologies, and do not use them properly.

Although the relevant departments have done a lot of work to improve the above-mentioned reasons, due to various factors, there has been no fundamental change so far. In recent years, the supply of flue-cured tobacco leaves has exceeded demand, resulting in serious inventory shortages and poor exports, which has affected the development of the tobacco industry. With the promotion and development of hybrid cigarettes, the amount of flue-cured tobacco leaves will gradually decrease. Adhering to science and technology to develop tobacco, improving the quality of flue-cured tobacco, and appropriately reducing the area are the inevitable trends in the development of flue-cured tobacco in the future.

Accelerate the development of Burley tobacco

Burley tobacco leaves have low sugar content, high nicotine, good flavor and loose structure, good material absorption performance, low tar content, and are hybrid types. The main raw material of cigarettes can account for 20% to 30% of the formula. At present, my country's burley tobacco is grown in western Hubei, eastern Sichuan and eastern Chongqing, covering an area of ??more than 600,000 acres, producing more than 10,000 kilograms of tobacco leaves. The burley tobacco area in western Hubei uses high-quality varieties such as Hubei No. 1 and TN90. The level of scientific farming technology is high, the drying room is sound, the structure is reasonable, the drying technology is good, and the tobacco leaves are of excellent quality. Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, Wuhan, Mengcheng and other large tobacco factories use a lot of it, and it is the main raw material for rolling famous brand mixed cigarettes such as "Yangcheng" and "Apollo". Yunnan and Hunan are also actively developing burley tobacco, but they have not yet formed a large scale. . In order to meet the needs of hybrid cigarette production, burley tobacco should speed up the development of oriental cigarettes

Oriental cigarettes have a rich aroma and fragrant taste, and are the best in hybrid cigarettes. Flavoring ingredients generally account for 10%. my country's oriental cigarettes are mainly concentrated in Xinchang, Zhejiang Province, Baoshan, Yunnan Province, Yunxi, Hubei Province, and Yili, Xinjiang. Their area is less than 100,000 acres and their output is limited, which cannot satisfy the production of mixed cigarettes. Needed. In recent years, Shandong, Henan, Hainan and other places have tried to grow oriental cigarettes and achieved success, but they have not yet been developed. In the future, they should be appropriately expanded to 400,000 to 500,000 acres to provide sufficient raw materials for hybrid cigarettes.

Developing Maryland cigarettes

Maryland cigarettes have better elasticity, filling power, smoldering properties and flavor, especially low tar content, making them a good ingredient for hybrid cigarettes. It accounts for about 10% of the formula. It was introduced in my country in the 1980s and successfully tested in Hubei Province. It is planted on several thousand acres in Wufeng County every year and is sold to Beijing Tobacco Factory for rolling low-tar blended "Zhongnanhai" brand cigarettes. , sold well at home and abroad. At present, most cigarette factories across the country still have insufficient understanding of Maryland cigarettes. With the development of hybrid cigarettes, Maryland cigarettes will be deeply developed and expanded.

Sun-cured cigarettes will be vigorously developed. >

my country has a long history of growing sun-cured tobacco and is rich in resources. Under the natural conditions and long-term cultivation of various places, coupled with the continuous improvement of the preparation technology, products with local characteristics have been formed, which are famous at home and abroad for their unique flavor. . It is a precious raw material for rolling mixed cigarettes with Chinese flavor, which is unmatched by any country in the world.

①The appearance quality and internal chemical composition of sun-cured yellow tobacco are close to that of flue-cured tobacco. It tastes good and has low tar content. It can be used as a raw material for flue-cured cigarettes and mixed cigarettes. It has high use value. For example, cigarette factories in Guangzhou, Changsha and other places have added sun-cured tobacco formulas to roll them. Famous flue-cured blended cigarettes such as "Yangcheng" and "Baisha" have very good sales. The production areas of sun-cured tobacco are scattered, mainly in Nanxiong and Lianxian of Guangdong Province, Nanping and Hezhou of Guangxi Autonomous Region, Huangzhou of Hubei Province, and Ningxiang of Hunan Province. , Shaxian, Fujian Province and other places have an area of ??400,000 to 500,000 acres.

② Sun-dried red tobacco is rich in resources, the most widely distributed, and has the most products. ", Jilin Province's "Guandong Tobacco", Hunan Province's "Phoenix Tobacco", Jiangxi Province's "Guangfeng Zi Lao Tobacco", etc. Sun-dried red tobacco contains low sugar and tar, high nicotine, good aroma and rich taste, and is used as Hybrid cigarettes can adjust flavor and strength and have broad development prospects.

At present, the main producing areas of sun-dried red tobacco are Fenghuang and Chenxi in Hunan Province, Shifang and Mianzhu in Sichuan Province, Yanji and Jiaohe in Jilin Province, Gaozhou and Heshan in Guangdong Province, Ceheng and Huishui in Guizhou Province, Tengchong and Dehong in Yunnan Province, and Shandong Province. Yishui and Qixia in Heilongjiang Province, Muling and Shangzhi in Heilongjiang Province, etc., have an area of ??more than 1.5 million acres and an annual output of more than 2 million dan. Cigarette factories in Guangzhou, Tianjin, Xiamen, Changchun, Yanji and other places are used to roll mixed cigarettes of famous brands such as "Evergrande", "Jinqiao", "Huang Ginseng" and "Changbai", and the sales are very good. Cigarettes in Mengcheng and other places are used to roll "Vermouth", "Huangshan Song" and other cigars, which are favored by smokers.

Tobacco traceability

It is generally believed that tobacco originated in the Americas. Archeology has found that tobacco entered the lives of American residents when humans were still in primitive society. At that time, when people were collecting food, they unconsciously picked a piece of plant leaf and put it in their mouth to chew. Because it was highly irritating, it just restored physical strength and refreshed people, so they often picked it and chewed it. If you do it often enough, it becomes a hobby.

Archaeologists believe that the earliest evidence of human use of tobacco found so far is a relief in a temple built in 432 AD in Berenque, Jalpas, southern Mexico. It is a semi-relief painting. The relief painting shows a Mayan holding a long pipe and a pipe in his mouth. During the ancestor worship ceremony, he blew smoke and smoked with the pipe, and his head was wrapped in tobacco leaves. Archaeologists also discovered tobacco and ashes left in pipes in caves where Indians lived in northern Arizona. According to research, the age of these relics is around 650 AD. There are records of humans smoking tobacco in El Salvador in the 14th century.

A long time ago, Native Americans had the custom of worshiping the sun and sacrificial smoking. Some archaeological analyzes also found that residents of the Americas had the habit of smoking 3,500 years ago. With further exploration of American history, the history of tobacco may extend to an earlier period in Indian history. Coupled with the fact that Nicotiana tabacum, commonly cultivated today, likes warm temperatures, the idea that tobacco originated from tropical America is even more convincing.

Columbus’s important discovery—tobacco

When it comes to the Italian navigator Columbus, people naturally think of the New World of America. Indeed, the world-famous navigator’s voyage not only discovered the New World of America, but also made another little-known but particularly important discovery—tobacco. The discovery of tobacco also made Columbus the world-recognized spreader of tobacco.

In 1492, Columbus was awarded the title of "Admiral of the Navy" by the King of Spain and was pre-appointed as the governor of the area where he might be discovered, and could possess one-tenth of the discovered wealth. So this adventurous navigator led the expedition team and began his legendary voyage.

On October 2 of the same year, when Columbus's fleet arrived at the island of San Salvador, two of the crew members "saw countless people, men and women holding torches and sucking blades of grass in their hands." Columbus's sailors were The Indians who were "vomiting clouds and smoke" were stunned. They were seen holding a lit stick in one hand and a long pipe in the other, and puffs of thick mist-like smoke came out of their mouths and nostrils. After some investigation, the secret was finally revealed. It turns out that it is made from a kind of grass leaves (that is, tobacco) rolled into corn leaves.

On October 27, the fleet sailed to the coast of Cuba, and Columbus sent a team of people ashore to find the gold they had longed for. Because he believed he had reached the original destination of his voyage—India. When the small expedition returned to the ship on November 5 of the same year, they only visited the local indigenous people's cottages and were entertained, but did not receive gold or meet the king. I just found a lot of people smoking tobacco with long pipes in their mouths. Columbus described the discovery of tobacco in his voyage diary:

“On Monday, October 25th, on the sea, about halfway between the island of Santa Maria and the island of Penandi, we met A man sailed in a canoe from Maria Island to Penandi; he carried a loaf of earthen bread, as big as a fist, a ladle of water, a little red soil, crushed and kneaded, and dried leaves. In our minds Very valuable. I gave some as a gift when I was on San Salvador Island.

”

The historical data about what Columbus saw and heard in America were only made public three centuries later in 1875. The material that published this incident was changed after Columbus’s second voyage that year. It is the legacy of the Indian bishops Dulas and Casas, who were historians of the Indian Bartolome region.

In May 1536, an explorer named Jiati passed through Changchun. During the adventure of time, he returned to the Americas to witness the use of tobacco by the Indians. He made a more detailed account than Columbus recorded:

“They put the tobacco in the sun to dry, and then put it on their necks. Hang a small bag made of calfskin, a hollow stone or wood, much like a pipe; when they are happy, they crush the tobacco into powder and place it at one end of the pipe, light a fire, and put it on the end of the pipe. The other end then breathed deeply through their mouths, completely filling their bodies with smoke until it came out of their mouths and nostrils like smoke from a chimney. They say it keeps them warm and healthy. We have also tried this kind of smoke, and when we put it in our mouths, it tasted hot and spicy, just like pepper. ”

The earliest written record of the Indians being the first humans to smoke tobacco is “Personal Experience” written by the Spaniard Pan. Pan described how he followed Columbus II in 1497. His first voyage to the West Indies, in which he described his discovery of the Indians smoking tobacco

In addition, there is also a 1535 book by the maritime historian Penandis Ovito. "General History of the Indians" records this:

"Among other evil habits, the Indians have a particularly harmful habit of smoking a certain kind of cigarette... in order to induce unconsciousness. state of anesthesia. Their chief used a pipe shaped like a ya, inserted the two ends of the ya into his nostrils, and filled one end of the pipe with burning weeds. They used this method to smoke until they lost consciousness, lying on the ground with their limbs stretched out like wine. It's the same as people who are drunk and drowsy... It's hard for me to imagine what happiness they get from this habit, unless they have already drank alcohol before smoking. ”

Also known as tobacco and tobacco leaves

Source: Nicotiana tabacum L., the whole plant of the Solanaceae family. Harvested in autumn and dried in the shade.

Property and flavor Pungent, warm. Poisonous.

It is used to treat swelling and poison, tinea capitis, tinea capitis, bald sores, snakebites, and mosquito bites. Rats.

Usage and dosage: Mash the fresh grass and apply it to the affected area, or use tobacco oil to spray on the affected area.

Excerpt from "National Collection of Chinese Herbal Medicine"