"The Silent Killer." What Are the Dangers and Effects of Smoking? How Did Smoking Get Started?

Today I'm going to talk to you about the silent killer. The world's most dangerous, most widely used substance of abuse. Forty-six million Americans are addicted to the invisible drug. It is as addictive as cocaine and heroine, yet its makers continue producing and distributing it nationwide.
The invisible drug is hidden within the leaf of a plant. When it's smoked, it releases over two thousand chemical poisons along with one of the world's most addictive drugs. The silent killer is nicotine straight from the tobacco plant.
The American Indians were the first people known to cultivate and use tobacco. It was inhaled, smoked, and chewed as early as 100 CE (AD), but has become more widespread since the early 1500's. The modern tobacco plant had its beginnings in 1609 when the Englishman John Rolfe arrived in Jamestown, Virginia. Dissatisfied with the tobacco grown there {Nicotiana rustica}, he cultivated a new species of tobacco {Nicotiana tabacum}, the species grown worldwide today.
Today there are about 160,000 tobacco farms in this nation.…