← Back to the front page

When Opium Was a Cure-All Remedy, and Other Unusual Historic Medical Cures

Khalid Elhassan April 10, 2025 16 min

Remedy - Flagellants thought that flogging themselves would ward off the plague — Flagellants thought that flogging themselves would ward off the plague. Pits Perilous

5. Tobacco as a Cure-All Remedy

Remedy - The earliest known image of somebody smoking a tobacco pipe — The earliest known image of somebody smoking a tobacco pipe. Wikimedia

Tobacco’s harmful effects are well known and understood nowadays. For a long time, however, not only were tobacco’s ills little known, but tobacco was actually considered healthy. Centuries ago, tobacco was praised as a remedy for many ailments, not only by quacks and charlatans, but also by respected members of the mainstream medical establishment. Tobacco was introduced to Europe by the Spanish, circa 1528. From early on, it was described as a “sacred herb” because of its supposed medicinal properties, as claimed by various Native Americans. Soon, European medical practitioners came to see the newly introduced plant as a remedy for many afflictions, from headaches and colds to cancer.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.