On the tobacco use and tobacco poisoning in Mexico and Europe

The tobacco used for a long time by American and Caribbean natives was introduced into Europe at the end of XV century, and essentially during the XVI century, by travelers returning to their Fatherlands. After the tobacco industry was organized, several concerns arose regarding medical and social care for the workers in the tobacco factories. Medical and hygienic aspects were reflected in a whole chapter (the XVII) of the Ramazzini's Treatise on Medicine of Work, published in 1700. Concerning social care for the workers' families, the creation, April 1796, of nursery schools for the children of working women in tobacco factories of the New Spain must be recalled. In opposition to the predictions of some natives and visitors during the last centuries, with the passage of time, the tobacco habit instead of decreasing, became progressively more accentuated in all social classes. To aggravate conditions, at present, the noxious effects of the tobacco smoke are combined with those of environmental contamination. Recent epidemiological reports on the number and health conditions of smokers, as well as the National Antitobacco Program in Mexico, are mentioned.