Today I Learned

Okay, let's try a DIFFERENT tobacco factoid I learned today, and this one is much more well-sourced.

Australian natural flora includes several plants containing nicotine, some of which have traditionally been harvested, prepared, traded and chewed by Indigenous peoples across much of Australia. The most potent of these is 'pituri,' made from leaves of the shrub Duboisia hopwoodii, which has a nicotine content of up to 8%, 6 much greater than that found in manufactured cigarettes. 5,6 Although Duboisia hopwoodii naturally occurs over much of southern and western Australia, most pituri was prepared in south-western Queensland, and from there distributed almost as far north as the Gulf of Carpentaria, south to Lake Eyre in South Australia, east to the mid-region of Queensland, and west to the area where Alice Springs is now located, an area covering more than half a million square kilometres. 4,5 It is also believed that a second centre for pituri processing was located somewhere in Western Australia, but little is known of it. 4 It remains unclear exactly why pituri production was such a localised behaviour, when it was considered such a valuable commodity and Duboisia hopwoodii is not an especially rare plant. One theory is that remote end-users of the processed product may not have recognised the association between pituri and the shrub, but it is now considered more likely that the leaves from plants growing in the south-west of Queensland (and possibly those from the Western Australia centre as well) were favoured because they contained nicotine in a less immediately toxic form. 4,5

Other plants traditionally used for chewing include the nicotine-containing species Nicotania gossei, Nicotania suaveolens, Nicotania excelsior and Nicotania ingulba. 6 These 'bush tobaccos' were chewed by men, women and children, and, like pituri, were widely traded over long distances. 1,8 Bush tobaccos are still used and traded in some regions 3–6 (see Section 8.5.3 ). Over time, terminology has altered, and in some regions bush tobaccos are now collectively referred to as pituri. 1,3,5,6,8

Pituri was prepared by drying selected leaf and stems of the Duboisia hopwoodii, often in sand ovens, 5 then packing the product into specially woven bags, ready for trading. 4 Pituri was produced and traded in such considerable volumes that it is probable that those who harvested it also used techniques to maximise cropping. 4 Early reports show that knowledge regarding processing had a sacred ritual significance and was vested in specific groups or clans, and that usage was probably restricted to older males. 4,5 Prior to chewing, pituri 4 (and other bush tobaccos, such as Nicotania spp.) 6,1 would be mixed with alkaline wood ash, which facilitated the release of nicotine from the leaf and enhanced its absorption through the lining of the mouth. This process has been likened to the combining of betel with lime prior to chewing, 4 as practised throughout much of the Asian subcontinent. 12

The mood-enhancing effects of nicotine lent the offering of pituri significance as an overture of friendship, and in some ceremonies the sharing of pituri both symbolised and facilitated social bonding. 4,6 It also fulfilled the practical purposes of suppressing appetite, providing sustenance on long journeys, 4,7 and, in larger quantities, serving as a painkiller. 4,6 Pituri was the most highly valued commodity in circulation; it was so important that it has been described as the 'gold standard' 6 of Indigenous trading. Although it is likely that at least a proportion of users were addicted to it, 4,6 because its usage was strictly controlled, 6 it is probable that quantities of pituri used beyond the immediate localities where the plant was to be found were low. 9 Pituri would remain an important social and trading commodity until the early twentieth century, 4 but its traditional methods of preparation and constraints on use were lost in the decades following European settlement. 4,5

I quit smoking back in 2000. I just ended up going down a rabbit hole today.