Tobacco was grown (as cash crop) in my place, as my mother recalls. it is not cultivated anymore (there). but, I don't know it was introduced to us or it was there before. tobacco is used along with betel leave (and nut). chewing them makes mouth and lips go red.. kind of used to get lipstick effect. but that works without tobacco also. (I have chewed betel leaves and nuts without tobacco. it goes really red). there is an indian version of cigarette (or cigar) called "beedi". very cheap, hence most of the very very poor people smoke that. but, again I don't know if it was there since a long time, or was it introduced from elsewhere.


but, cannabis grows wild there. smoking cannabis has been there for sometime, I would guess it was there before tobacco (just I think). again, I cannot surely say about its origins.

It has allways been said that "mathu, maathu and soothu" are the three addictive things that destroy men. mathu is alcohol, maathu is woman!! and soothu is gambling.


or, it could be that he didn't know smoking is that bad (didn't know about cancer?). or he smoked himself!!! (you know what smokers are like)







Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/2005 01:45PM by prema1.