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Why does Safehold have tobacco?

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Re: Why does Safehold have tobacco?
Post by Salisria   » Fri Jul 22, 2022 11:13 am

Salisria
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If tobacco had been gengeneered to be healthy, I can't imagine that there would be Pasqualate tracts warning of its dangers. Such tracts would almost certainly be based upon warnings contained in the Book of Pasquale. Moreover, while nicotine itself isn't carcinogenic, certain byproducts of nicotine produced when tobacco is cured are some of the worst carcinogens present in tobacco. Conceivably, the Terran Federation had a high-tech curing process that avoided generating those byproducts, but not Safehold.
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Re: Why does Safehold have tobacco?
Post by Louis R   » Fri Jul 22, 2022 3:40 pm

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Not to mention that the worst ones are combustion products - and would be present regardless of what is being burned. There's a reason that current & former fire-fighters have probably the highest cancer rate of any human group, despite the massive precautions taken against smoke exposure. To the point were in many workers comp regimes 'firefighter with cancer' is now an open and shut case for compensation for work-related illness. IIRC, there is some evidence that the [re]invention of the chimney made a huge difference in the prevalence of respiratory issues, included protocancers, in the admittedly small number of cases where suitable tissue and bone structure have been preserved for examination in archeological contexts [Yes, the smoke from modern synthetics is nasty. I'm told that burning wool and silk are even more toxic]

So your original question is a good one. I can only suppose that the answer is the same as for 'why does the Honorverse still have tobacco?': because!

Salisria wrote:If tobacco had been gengeneered to be healthy, I can't imagine that there would be Pasqualate tracts warning of its dangers. Such tracts would almost certainly be based upon warnings contained in the Book of Pasquale. Moreover, while nicotine itself isn't carcinogenic, certain byproducts of nicotine produced when tobacco is cured are some of the worst carcinogens present in tobacco. Conceivably, the Terran Federation had a high-tech curing process that avoided generating those byproducts, but not Safehold.
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Re: Why does Safehold have tobacco?
Post by phillies   » Wed Jul 27, 2022 4:05 pm

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In order that it may be smoked.
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Re: Why does Safehold have tobacco?
Post by isaac_newton   » Thu Jul 28, 2022 5:22 am

isaac_newton
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phillies wrote:In order that it may be smoked.


BTW is it described as also being chewed?

sailers chewed tobacco - smoking not being a very positive activity on a wooden ship!!! :D
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Re: Why does Safehold have tobacco?
Post by Salisria   » Sat Jul 30, 2022 6:03 pm

Salisria
Lieutenant Commander

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Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2022 5:08 am

Wads of chewleaf (presumably a variety of tobacco preferable for chewing rather than smoking, much as there are different varieties of apples suitable for eating, baking, and cindering and different peanuts are used for roasting and boiling) and spittoons are both mentioned fairly early on.
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