Part One

Hi my name is ‘Ciggie’, and I’m going to tell you a little story about where I come from, who my friends are and why I’m so popular.  I’ll also let you know why some people are trying to dump me and why they think it is a good reason to do so.
Take a look at my family tree to see who everyone is.
I’m not sure of my actual birthday but my ancestors start way back in  6,000 B.C as Grandpa Tobacco , I have to say he’s a bit of a plant but he’s very good looking don’t you think?  He grew natively in North and South America and is from the same family as the potato, pepper and the very deadly poisonous nightshade who are all plants.
Native Americans loved Grandpa Tobacco and they used him for medicinal reasons, for example, chewing on a leaf to help relieve toothache and using the leaves to dress wounds.  It was also believed it helped enhance fertility, HA! If only they had known what we know now. 
So people tried finding ways of using Grandpa Tobacco, and found it could be burnt and inhaled to smoke.  It was stuffed into hollow reeds, vegetable leaves or corn husks and smoked.  This is when my Dad known as Cigar (tobacco wrapped in tobacco leaves) and his brother my Uncle Pipe appeared.  I even have a couple of aunties, Auntie Snuff; she was quite popular with Tainco Indians who would sniff tobacco through y-shaped pipes.  Auntie Spit was called by a few names, Chew, Gat and Plug, and she was placed inside the mouth.  As it was becoming used in various ways the Native Americans decided to cultivate it.