Today I'm going to talk to you about the silent killer. The world's most dangerous, most widely used substance of abuse. Forty-six million Americans are addicted to the invisible drug. It is as addictive as cocaine and heroine, yet its makers continue producing and distributing it nationwide.
The invisible drug is hidden within the leaf of a plant. When it's smoked, it releases over two thousand chemical poisons along with one of the world's most addictive drugs. The silent killer is nicotine straight from the tobacco plant.
The American Indians were the first people known to cultivate and use tobacco. It was inhaled, smoked, and chewed as early as 100 CE (AD), but has become more widespread since the early 1500's. The modern tobacco plant had its beginnings in 1609 when the Englishman John Rolfe arrived in Jamestown, Virginia. Dissatisfied with the tobacco grown there {Nicotiana rustica}, he cultivated a new species of tobacco {Nicotiana tabacum}, the species grown worldwide today.
English: Smoking any tobacco product, %, Females
English: Smoking any tobacco product, %, Males
Dunhill Early Morning Pipe Tobacco, 1990's MurrayToday there are about 160,000 tobacco farms in this nation. The leading tobacco growing states are North Carolina and Kentucky, followed by South Carolina and Virginia. One reason that led to such a large amount of tobacco growth is that farmers make more money from tobacco crops than they do on food crops. Based on 1979 prices, the profit per acre is $1,198 for tobacco, $233 for peanuts, and $72 for soybeans or corn. Since then, the price for tobacco has grown steadily to over $4,000 per acre.
That said, the tobacco companies combined create an over $45 billion industry. The men who run it are some of the highest paid executive in America, with some earning up to $2.5 million annually. But while the tobacco industry is thriving, the people smoking, chewing, and using...