Battle of the herbs!
According to Wikipedia, tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. Cannabis, on the other hand, is a genus of flowering plants. The two of them have various uses in modern society and are consumed in several ways. But perhaps the most notable form of consumption has to be smoking. Both of them are rolled into cigarettes and smoked (a "joint" is used to refer to a cannabis cigarette colloquially). Today I'll be comparing the two forms of cigarettes and giving my final verdict on which one tastes better/is better.
Origin
TOBACCO: The first people to ever widely consume tobacco through smoking were the Native Americans who had the herb instigated into their culture, religion, and way of life. Tobacco was a widely accepted trade item, then, and was often smoked in "peace pipes" in sacred ceremonies (even children were in on the whole smoking thing). However, the tobacco industry faced tremendous growth after European settlers arrived in the Americas and introduced the practise in mainland Europe where it, too, became a readily accepted trade item. Thanks to James Bonsack the tobacco industry tripled in size due to his invention of a machine that produced cigarettes.
In today's world, tobacco has been condemned a health hazard and trends in the developed world are declining whilst in the developing world they're seeing a steady rise.
CANNABIS: The first notable use of cannabis can be found in the 3rd millennium BC in Central and South Asia (that's where I'm from! :D). Cannabis is also known to have been used in ancient China (as evidenced by a 2,800-year-old, mummified, pot-smoking shaman) and also by the Hindus of India and Nepal some thousands of years ago (and was then known as ganjika).
Cannabis has an ancient history of ritual use and is found in pharmacological cults around the world. It was revered for its psychoactive properties by the ancient Assyrians whose shamans burned cannabis flowers to induce a state of trance. Even good ol' William Shakespeare was a pothead as proven by pipes dug up from his garden that contained large traces of cannabis. In today's world, cannabis has not only been condemned a health hazard, albeit manipulatively, it has also been criminalised throughout various parts of the world since the 20th century.
VERDICT: In this category the verdict will be based on which herb had the most diverse usage in its history. While tobacco was consumed on a large scale it was still, initially, smoked only by the Native Americans and later the European settlers. Cannabis, on the other hand, has been smoked by the Aryans, the Assyrians, the Chinese, the Indians, the Nepalese, and various other peoples from Central and South Asia. Thus, the winner in this category is CANNABIS.
Contemporary Usage
TOBACCO: In the days of yore smoking was mainly associated with masculinity and power and women smoking in public were often associated with promiscuity. In fact, in 19th century Europe and Japan prostitutes would approach potential clients by offering them a smoke. Tobacco smoking also became an icon for capitalism after the American Civil War.
Tobacco is widely smoked throughout the world and it's no secret that the once-great phenomenon could be nearing an end. However, despite efforts to reduce smoking via anti-smoking campaigns, no-smoking zones, and even increasing the tax on cigarettes the trend still sees a whopping 1.22 billion people smoking across the globe, with most of the smokers being men in the developing world. Take a look at the following statistics:
The country with the greatest percentage of male smokers is Russia: 70.1%
The country with the greatest percentage of female smokers is Nauru: 52.4%
Tobacco smoking rates from some of the world's greatest nations are:
Cannabis has an ancient history of ritual use and is found in pharmacological cults around the world. It was revered for its psychoactive properties by the ancient Assyrians whose shamans burned cannabis flowers to induce a state of trance. Even good ol' William Shakespeare was a pothead as proven by pipes dug up from his garden that contained large traces of cannabis. In today's world, cannabis has not only been condemned a health hazard, albeit manipulatively, it has also been criminalised throughout various parts of the world since the 20th century.
VERDICT: In this category the verdict will be based on which herb had the most diverse usage in its history. While tobacco was consumed on a large scale it was still, initially, smoked only by the Native Americans and later the European settlers. Cannabis, on the other hand, has been smoked by the Aryans, the Assyrians, the Chinese, the Indians, the Nepalese, and various other peoples from Central and South Asia. Thus, the winner in this category is CANNABIS.
Contemporary Usage
TOBACCO: In the days of yore smoking was mainly associated with masculinity and power and women smoking in public were often associated with promiscuity. In fact, in 19th century Europe and Japan prostitutes would approach potential clients by offering them a smoke. Tobacco smoking also became an icon for capitalism after the American Civil War.
Tobacco is widely smoked throughout the world and it's no secret that the once-great phenomenon could be nearing an end. However, despite efforts to reduce smoking via anti-smoking campaigns, no-smoking zones, and even increasing the tax on cigarettes the trend still sees a whopping 1.22 billion people smoking across the globe, with most of the smokers being men in the developing world. Take a look at the following statistics:
The country with the greatest percentage of male smokers is Russia: 70.1%
The country with the greatest percentage of female smokers is Nauru: 52.4%
Tobacco smoking rates from some of the world's greatest nations are:
- United States of America: 23.9%
- United Kingdom: 35.7%
- Japan: 29.3%
- France: 31.65%
- Australia: 24.75%
CANNABIS: Though prevalent in our society for a long time cannabis smoking never really achieved mainstream success as did it's darker cousin. Tobacco smoking owed its success mainly to doctors, who had a great influence on society back then (and still do). In the old days tobacco smoking was deemed a great stress reliever and healthy for the lungs (oh the irony) while cannabis smoking was almost always associated with either artists (writers, painters, musicians, and playwrights) or pagans. With the rise of the Abrahamic religions (which I'm not saying is a bad thing! >_<) and also the increased awareness of the 'dangers' of smoking cannabis smoking was further shunned.
Today, only a mere 147 million people smoke cannabis annually with the most prominent group of potheads being the Bohemians: a pot-smoking group of writers, artists, musicians, and actors who live only for their work. Despite having had some very famous smokers, cannabis smoking still hasn't gained influence as has tobacco. The following are a few statistics:
The country with the greatest percentage of cannabis smokers is Papua New Guinea: 29.5%
Cannabis smoking rates from some of the world's greatest nations are:
- United States of America: 13.7%
- United Kingdom: 7.4%
- Japan: 0.1%
- France: 8.6%
- Australia: 10.6%
VERDICT: Based on the number of people smoking each herb, TOBACCO is proclaimed the winner by a huge margin.
Health Effects
TOBACCO: Tobacco is the single greatest cause of preventable death globally with 5.4 million deaths attributed to the act of smoking alone. Tobacco use leads to diseases affecting the heart and lungs with smoking being a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer. It also causes peripheral vascular disease and hypertension. These effects depend mainly on how much and how long a person has been smoking and how much secondhand smoke that person has been inhaling (though the adverse effects of secondhand smoke are dubious). Tobacco use is a significant factor in miscarriages among pregnant smokers while also contributing to other effects to a child in the womb such as premature births and low birth weight and increases the chance for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome by three times. Tobacco smoking increases the chance of impotence amongst male smokers by 85% more than non-smoking males and is the main cause of erectile dysfunction.
Basically, tobacco is possibly one of the worst things you can consume for your body and it is truly sad to see such a rampant killer legal and running free on the streets of the world. Bhutan, however, is the only country in the world to have banned the sale of tobacco.
CANNABIS: The active ingredient of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which gives the herb its psychoactive properties or the "high." Various scientific studies have proven that cannabis contains little to no carcinogens (an agent that causes cancer) and it's long-term health effects have long been debated but none have actually been proven. Of the short-term health effects cannabis smoking can cause impairment of basic sense (which usually just last for three hours maximum) and can cause temporary memory loss. The adverse long-term effects are highly debated but there is one positive effect of cannabis smoking which is popularly agreed upon: smoking marijuana destroys cancer cells and has no links to lung cancer.
Up till now no reported death has been attributed to cannabis smoking and it poses no real threat to one's life. Despite all this, it is shunned in modern society and criminalised in many places.
VERDICT: On one hand you have the extremely poisonous tobacco while on the other hand you have cannabis: a herb which has been used to cure cancer, glaucoma, and AIDS patients. The obvious winner here is CANNABIS.
Why We Smoke It
TOBACCO: People may have varying reasons for smoking tobacco: recreation, increasing concentration (which is a myth, by the way), or peer pressure. I used to be a regular smoker, managing at least a cigarette a day, but now I only smoke during certain occasions. I had two main reasons for tobacco smoking: whilst among friends I smoked to fit in or stand out as the most masculine (honest confessions) but when alone (especially at night) I used to smoke to achieve a certain 'buzz' feeling in my head. You can call it the cigarette-high but it's not intoxicating like an actual high. It's more comparable to a refreshing buzz one gets from drinking caffeinated beverages. However, with prolonged usage that buzz soon fades away and now I never get that feeling from tobacco smoking no matter how many cigarettes I smoke.
CANNABIS: People have smoked cannabis for varying spiritual and religious reasons. The Bohemians smoke cannabis to invoke creativity and the Rastafarians do so to reach a state closest to their god. But perhaps the number one reason people smoke cannabis in today's society is to tap its psychoactive property - in other words, to get high. Aside from its favourable effects on one's health I personally smoke cannabis every once in a while to get high. During that state I achieve a new perspective on the world around me and, honestly speaking, I think of things that I normally wouldn't. As a writer I need to add creative aspects to what I write and aside from sitting in the toilet and going to the gym and spending time at night in solitude I've found getting high to be another effective way of getting my creative juices flowing.
VERDICT: It's clearly CANNABIS.
And the winner of the battle of the herbs is... CANNABIS! :D It has a more diverse history than tobacco, is not fatal to one's health like tobacco, and provides greater satisfaction than tobacco smoking! It only falls short in popularity which it largely owes to the lack of awareness of the benefits of cannabis to the human body and mind.
P.S. I smoke tobacco only when I'm in a large social gathering (usually of five or more people). Such gatherings are rare as per my introverted lifestyle so that ensures I don't smoke that often. In fact, I rarely ever smoke tobacco. Cannabis, on the other hand, is something I personally enjoy (but not crave) and something I indulge in as much as I can (though I'm not addicted). Due to the cost of purchasing and the lack of availability I smoke 'up' only once a week or fortnight. Not a lot, I know.
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