A brief history of Tobacco

Tobacco Plant

The history of tobacco cultivation goes as far as 3000 years. (even Buddha was not born) The people in America grew the plant for various reasons.  They in fact cultivated the plant for medicinal purposes. It is also widely believed that people grew it to appease the spirit and heal the pain of a sick.  In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered tobacco in Cuba and he later imported it to Europe for the first time. There the tobacco was simply used as an ornamental plant.

Later in 16^th Century it was declared as a “universal medicine” by Doctor Phillippe II.  Somewhere, during the reign of Louis the XIII, tobacco was consumed both as a medicine and was also smoked in pipes out of pleasure. Since then the smoking of the tobacco plant began which ignited many revolutions and evolutions in the human history.

It was in 7^th century, that a Buddhist saint Guru Rimpoche declared tobacco contrary to what Europeans and Americans did. -So called the “universal medicine” and  “Queen’s herb” was declared evil. This attracted many interpretations from the intellectuals far and near. To me, I firmly believe that Guru Rimpoche must have declared tobacco as an evil out his compassion because tobacco when excessively consumed caused Physical infirmaries which ultimately led to the loss of precious life. This loss brought unbearable sufferings not only to the souls of deceased  but also took away solace of those surviving and bereaved ones. Since Buddhism as a way of life (or as a religion) is based on compassion and kindness, anything that took away happiness was considered evil (dhue)

Long after Guru was gone, Zhabdrung enacted tobacco law in Bhutan, which became the first tobacco law (for the monastic body). If what Guru Rimpoche declared was a bill then it became law during Zhabdring’s time.  Bhutan for the first time must have had a tobacco control law until we had the recent law of 2010.