The following points highlight the five main types of fumitories and masticatories. The types are: 1. Betel 2. Tobacco 3. Bidi 4. Cigarette 5. Prepared Betel.
Type # 1. Betel (Paan):
Botanical Name:
Piper betle
Family:
Piperaceae
1. Crores of the people in the world use this masticatory.
2. These are the leaves of Piper betel, a climbing shrub.
3. Leaves are plucked when they are fully mature.
4. Betel in India is grown in some parts of M.P., U.P., Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
5. Along with Paan, the betel nuts, i.e. nuts of Areca catechu (Supart) are used.
6. Chewing ingredients of Paan involve betel nuts, betel leaves and lime. It is often mixed with cloves (Syzygium aromaticum), cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicurri), cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) and other spices. Some people use tobacco with Paan.
Type # 2. Tobacco (Hindi – Tambaku):
Botanical Name:
Nicotiana tabacum L.
Family:
Solanaceae
1. Tobacco plant is an annual herb with large leaves and pink flowers.
2. The generic name ‘Nicotiana’ is after a French Ambassador Jean Nicot.
3. Due to the presence of an alkaloid, nicotine, tobacco leaves contain the property of being narcotic. Nicotine is formed in roots but deposited in leaves.
4. During the process of curing and fermentation some essential oils and aromatic substances develop which impart aroma and flavor to tobacco.
5. The plant attains a height of 3 to 6 feet, with large, sessile and oval leaves.
6. Tobacco is used as chewing tobacco, smoking tobacco or in the form of cigars, cigarettes, Bidies and several other similar products.
7. Tobacco wastes (dust and inferior tobacco) are used in preparing snuffs, Khamira tobacco, and nicotine sulphate, an insecticide.
8. The oil, obtained from tobacco seeds, is used as an illuminant and in manufacture of paints and varnishes.
9. Tobacco, when taken in smaller concentrations, is stimulant. But when taken in larger concentrations it is extremely poisonous.
10. Nicotine is also used as an insecticide.
11. Nicotiana leaves are also used in skin diseases and rheumatic swellings.
12. Important tobacco-producing countries are U.S.A., China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, etc.
13. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, U.P. and West Bengal are the major tobacco-producing Indian states.
Type # 3. Bidi (Hindi – Tendu):
Botanical Name:
Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb.
Family:
Ebenaceae
1. These are the leaves (Fig. 97) of Diospyros melanoxylon, a tree distributed in M.P Maharashtra, Orissa, U.P., Bihar and Western peninsula.
2. Dried leaves are the main constituent of Bidies, which are used by poor people in place of cigarettes.
3. Inside the folded cover of these leaves is filled an inferior quality of tobacco.
4. Bidies are being tied with a fine thread of cotton, i.e. Gossypium.
5. Fruits of this tree are edible.
6. Wood of this tree is used for poles, walking- sticks, turnery and carving.
Type # 4. Cigarette:
1. Cigarette paper is usually made from flax (Linurn usitatissimum).
2. Tobacco, used in the cigarette, comes from the dried, cured and fermented leaves of Nicotiana tabacum.
Type # 5. Prepared Betel:
1. This specimen of “prepared betel” consists of betel leaf, kaththa, lime, supari, saunf, ilaichi and tobacco.
2. Betel leaves belong to Piper betle (Piperaceae), a climbing shrub grown on a large scale in M.P., Bihar, U.P., Karnataka, A.P. and West Bengal.
3. “Kaththa” is a resinous substance obtained from the bark or chips of heartwood of Acacia catechu (Mimosaceae).
4. Lime is the oxide of calcium.
5. Supari or betel nuts are the nuts of betel-nut- palm (Areca catechu; Palmae or Arecaceae). Kernels obtained from its ripe fruits are sliced, boiled and made into decoction which is very rich in tannins.
6. Saunf or fennel are the seeds of Foeniculum vulgare (Umbelliferae or Apiaceae).
7. Cboti Ilaichi or cardamom are the dried fruits of Elettaria cardamomum of Zingiberaceae.
8. Tobacco comes from the dried, cured and fermented leaves of Nicotiana tabacum of Solanaceae.