FYI ...Where's the Nicotine?

[hawke]

I read something posted saying that the most nicotine in tobacco was in the stem. I didn't believe that as back in the 70's and when out of the leafy weed, we would practice the "snorting of the stems" to try and get the famed buzz. For the most part there was only a glimpse of the effect. So I surmised that tobacco's stems would not carry much nicotine either. I looked up on Wikipedia and found this confirmation:

Every part of the plant except the seed contains nicotine, but the concentration is related to different factors such as species, type of land, culture and weather conditions. The concentration of nicotine increases with the age of the plant. Tobacco leaves contain 2 to 8% nicotine combined as malate or citrate. The distribution of the nicotine in the mature plant is widely variable: 64% of the total nicotine exists in the leaves, 18% in the stem, 13% in the root, and 5% in the flowers.

 

[deathmetal]

Maybe we can smoke the roots too.

 

[johnnyiii]

It would seem that with all the lower you go the less there is.
When I want to find the nicotine though I light up Gwaith and Hogarth. :P

 

[sw0snuff3r]

It is my understanding that stems and midribs are used in the production of Irish Toast style snuff (and possibly American Scotch) and they pack an adequate nicotine punch when compared to lamina-only snuff. It is interesting to see the actual percentage of nicotine found in the various parts of the plant. I guess that snuff made from stems etc. have had the pH adjusted accordingly through the addition of sodium carbonate or something similar and may seem stronger due to the finer grind being absorbed more readily. I have some home grown tobacco ageing and will have to do some experimentation this summer. Of course the good leaf material will be going in my pipe ::

 

[deathmetal]

I guess that snuff made from stems etc. have had the pH adjusted accordingly through the addition of sodium carbonate or something similar and may seem stronger due to the finer grind being absorbed more readily.

I've got to find a way to do this to my blends.

 

[danhester]

I didn't believe that as back in the 70's and when out of the leafy weed, we would practice the "snorting of the stems" to try and get the famed buzz.

Boy, and I thought I'D been hard-up and desperate at times back in my day :rofl: I don't know how most pipe smokers feel about stems, but I don't usually mind them. I'll throw them in the bowl when I encounter them in a blend. Doesn't seem to affect flavor much as far as I can tell.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

If you want Nicotine just go walk through a tobacco patch in the morning.

Fresh tobacco leaves have enough Nicotine to kill you just from repeatedly brushing against your arm. A few people here have mentinoed getting a buzz from preparing a few raw leaves without gloves. The tricky part is taking Nicotine out of the leaf.

 

[sw0snuff3r]

Fresh tobacco leaves have enough Nicotine to kill you just from repeatedly brushing against your arm.

That's a bit of an exaggeration, I worked in tobacco fields sunup to sundown during my teens with plenty of tobacco brushing up against me. The worst it got was a bit of a "woozy" feeling.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

There is an adequate amount of nicotine is all varieties of tobacco to kill you, and if you don't believe me eat a whole bowl of it and force yourself self to NOT throw up. The trick is getting your body to absorb it when smoking it. As for the stems, who has been smoking stems on the forum? Ha ha! There are easier ways to get your fix.
And yes, just working around the plants will give you a buzz, especially when it comes time to top and sucker them. I've felt the gut wrench of OD just in working my small garden of tobacco.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Snuff, my uncle lost his hand because he would forget to wear gloves when working the fields, so it does get absorbed while working it. As for killing you... Well, I've never heard of snyone dying while working it, but I could see where someone working stupid might. Just hanging it in the barn would make us sick, and the older guys would poke fun at us. So, we learned to suck it up.

 

[sw0snuff3r]

I won't argue it gets absorbed Cosmic, I remember getting nausea in the fields and the old hands getting a kick out of it. You get used to it after awhile and unfortunately it turned me on to cigarettes at an early age. I had no idea it would cause the loss of a hand though!
I've grown around 50 plants the last two years so I have some stuff ready to process soon. I really enjoyed your thread where you made your twist tobacco and I'll be giving that a try soon.

 

[tinsel]

That's a bit of an exaggeration, I worked in tobacco fields sunup to sundown during my teens with plenty of tobacco brushing up against me. The worst it got was a bit of a "woozy" feeling.

Your experience is the same as mine. The worst "wooziness" I ever got was when stripping the cured tobacco with bare hands for several hours on end. Still, it was very mild. No where near the level of "wooziness" I got when I first started smoking cigarettes in my teens.
Cosmic, that's a shame about your uncle's hand. Never heard of that happening to anyone before. I had a great uncle who fell from the top tier in the barn and suffered brain damage, having to be cared for by family members and nurses for the rest of his life.
Also, I too had to learn to "suck it up" when the woozy feeling kicked in because the older guys would make fun of me. Doesn't take too long to build up a tolerance though.

 

[cobguy]

The last time I was hand rolling cigars, I got a pretty good Nic-kick.
I stopped and washed my hands, took a shot of honey and then kept going.
This didn't happen when I was making twists so I assume the cigar leaf was quite a bit stronger.

 

[music4cash]

We were warned to wear gloves when handling tobacco, and to avoid working when the tobacco was wet like in the early morning. Where I lived in VA, no one had more than a one acre plot of tobacco so there was no sun up to sundown in the field, but there where plenty of people that got sick during harvest, I knew people that went to the ER over nicotine poisoning, but I never heard of anyone losing a hand to it...I did know a guy who lost a toe when he was careless with a cane knife though.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Hmm, I thought I read about a fatality in my wanderings on the Internet but I can't find the reference, I must have been getting some stories mixed up.

Anyway, that stuff is really strong when it's raw that's for sure.

 

[bonehed]

This is from the creator of Toque 'Quit' snuff: "It's probably the purest snuff on the market, not only are the stalks removed but the midrib of the leaf and any little stalks are also removed. This creates a higher nicotine content and for me, who gave up smoking a long time ago, it gives quite an adrenaline rush."