Turkish tobacco

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Turkish tobacco, (Nicotiana spp., L - Turkish, tütün), or Oriental tobacco, is a geographical indication of tobacco. It is cultivated mostly in the Aegean and Black Sea regions of Turkey and throughout nations that were once a part of the Ottoman Empire, such as Greece and Bulgaria.

Turkish tobacco has a much milder flavor and contains less nicotine and carcinogens that other varieties [1]. In order to get the full flavor, it is mixed with more robust tobacco such as Virginia tobacco. Turkish tobacco plants usually have a greater number and smaller size leaves. These differences can be attributed to climate, soil, cultivation, and treatment methods.

[edit] History

Tobacco originated in the Americas and was introduced to the Ottoman Turks by the Spanish. The Turks over time developed their own method of growing and using tobacco. It was first grown in Macedonia. And even though Greece and Bulgaria still grow the same seed, it is still considered Turkish tobacco because the seed was developed during Turkish rule. The Ottomans also developed different methods of consuming tobacco such as using a hookah for smoking. [2]. Today, cigarette smoking is prevalent in Turkey and Greece[3].

[edit] Finance

Turkish tobacco is mixed with many brands of cigarettes thus the popularity and value of the variety is so great that it is also grown in Italy, South Africa, and even the Americas. If the Republic of Turkey was to claim geographical indication and intellectual property rights on the seed, as France has done with Champagne, then no other nation but Turkey would be allowed to grow and market "Turkish tobacco", which would drive prices up [4]. Tekel is the largest Turkish company to market Turkish tobacco in Turkey and R. J. Reynolds is the largest in the world under the cigarette brand name Camel that they introduced in 1913 [5].

[edit] Health hazards

All tobacco, regardless of the variety, is a health hazard [6].

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