Tobacco Enemas: A Strange Emergency Treatment
Eighteenth-century ship rescue kits included special bellows for blowing tobacco smoke into drowning victims’ rectums. Rescuers believed nicotine’s stimulant effects would revive the unconscious, and they routinely performed this procedure along riverbanks. While this odd practice died out, it led to better understanding of nicotine’s effects on the body. Scientists now study nicotine’s potential benefits for conditions like Parkinson’s disease.
