However, growing tobacco as a crop was pioneered by communities
in the Andes at a much later time. Most estimates put this
between 5000 and 3000 BC. From the Andes of South America
tobacco spread north and then on to the colonies, islands and
continents beyond. With steadily increasing demand tobacco
plants were transported for cultivation to countries all over
the world. The history of tobacco is more than just a history of
its cultivation for chewing or smoking. It represents a
fascinating journey through changing tastes and fashions,
variations in cultural status and different stages of political
and trading importance. It also takes in numerous other lesser-
known uses. South American tribes, for example, used it as an
insect repellent, and many early civilizations incorporated its
use into sacred rites. Tobacco chewing was probably the first
way that tobacco was consumed. Anthropologists have also
speculated that ‘snuffing’ – taking in powdered tobacco through
the nose – probably pre-dated smoking. Snuffi