Raw tobacco leaves?

[thatguyjeff]

Wondering if anyone has tried or knows the effects of chewing on raw/fresh tobacco leaves?

I don't know enough about the different curing processes to know how it effects the nicotine, flavor, etc. exactly.

Is it really toxic? How does it taste? Etc., etc...

[EsotericPC]

I really don't know but I am interested to find out if anyone has experience chewing fresh leaves.

I know indigenous people from Bolivia chew fresh coca leaves and that works so I wonder what leaves straight from the tobacco plant does.

Interesting!

[chainsnuser]

They taste like lettuce and they don't give any nicotine as long as you don't process them at least by adding soda or lime. The Indians chewed fresh tobacco leaves mixed with lime in the old times. I read that once on some tobacco-website. It's told that Columbus noted it in his logbook on one of his voyages to the West Indies.

I'm still alive. It's certainly a myth that fresh tobacco is poisonous.

Cheers!

[Roo]

South Americans chew coca with baking soda and lime for the same reason that you would need something similar to convert the nicotine alkaloids found in raw tobacco into something you could absorb into your bloodstream. On its own it's worthless. The soda and lime is just one of many methods to help your body absorb and digest certain compounds. Same reason many prescription drugs are of the "sulfate" variety -- an acidic salt compound to help convert the substance you are trying to ingest into something your body can take into the bloodstream. At least that's my take take on it. I'm no chemist. :wink: