Folk tale true or false, can tomato leaves be smoked as a substitute for tobacco?

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Some of the oldest of old timers claim that tomato leaves were smoked in handrolled cigarettes, or used as snuff) during hard times in years past. Presumably after being dried in either case. Since not too many folks old enough to smoke during the Great Depression are still alive, there are other people that claim their parents, grandparents, etc used to do this.

In theory it seems like it would work - tomato is a member of the same family as tobacco and the leaves do contain nicotine. In fact one of the big tobacco companies apparently even owns a patent to use tomato leaves as a filler.

The theory was, in times past, that even growing your own tobacco would take up land that you might need to grow a crop to feed the family. Thus in a real pinch (pardon the pun) tomato leaf snuff or cigarettes could still be had by using an otherwise wasted part of a food crop.

Anyone ever try it or hear the same story?
 
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Don't know about tomato leaves, but I remember a sheep herder that smoked dried tumble weed leaves. My Dad went to his camp with water and groceries. Found the sheep locked up in the corral, a jack rabbit tied to the wagon tongue, and the herder sittin on the bunk in his wagon. He was buck naked and told my Dad he had been expecting him.

He got a quick ride to town.

My Pappy had a rule about cowhands and sheep herders. "It's OK if they talk to themselves (hell they ain't nobody else to talk to ) but if they answer themselves, take them to town.:cool:
 
Sure, you can smoke the leaves but the darn things make you real, real hungry. Lucky there's 'maters on there. Wait..... that tomato plant looks different than this one.........whoaaaaaaooooo. Ahhhhh.
gotta grab me a beer,
gordon
 
I also don't know about tomato leaves. But I know that here in the backwoods, many people have smoked corn silk in corn cob pipes. I doubt there is any nicotine in corn silk.
 
I don't know about smoking them but if you eat them they will give you a stomach ache and the trots. My Dad used to talk about smoking corn silk. My uncles (Mom's brothers were a product of the 60's) used to smoke this green plant that smelled like burnt rope. It gave them the munchies and they did stupid stuff. Of course fresh air will do that to some people too.

I do remember frisking some high school kids and coming up with a baggy of oregano that they paid about twenty bucks for. They thought I was crazy because I was laughing when I told them to keep it, it would be great with tomatoes.
 
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When picking tomatoes all day a rotten or ripe tomato is the only thing that will take the green from the leaves off of your hands. Just smash it up and rinse. I grew up with selling them from a roadside stand and would no more smoke the leaves than a tomato worm.
 
I have heard of drying and smoking banana peals, (smoked to get the same effect as pot, and I think its pretty much BS), but never heard of smoking tomato leaves.....
 
If eaten, tomato foliage will cause illness because it is in the same family as the tobacco plant. Thus the effect of munching on the greens will be much like swallowing some chewing tobacco - unpleasant.

Dried and cut, the leaves do seem to resemble tobacco (rather than any other smokable substance legal or illegal) in terms of texture and smell. There's nothing in the chemical make up of the leaves that would have any mind altering effects - well no more than the tobacco plant.

I accidentally pulled up the large tomato plant that I had growing in the back yard. I put the foliage up to dry in the sun. I suppose that if the weather is good I might have suitably dried leaves within a week or so (actual tobacco growers would put tobacco up to dry much longer in special drying sheds). I suppose a week or so in the sun and it should at least suffice to see if it will taste at all like tobacco. (I've smoked some fairly strong tobaccos from Java, the Balkans, etc over the years. )
 
IIRC tomato's are a part of the nightshade family and their leaves and stems are poisonous. I doubt that it will kill you but I wouldn't take the chance.
 
Gardeners that smoke can transmit tobacco mosaic virus to tomatoes.

That may be where that idea originated.
 
Years ago we had a neighbor that always put in a small garden on the back of his property near our property line. Most of it looked kind of neglected except the tomato plants, which were in cages. One day I noticed his tomato plants did not look like my plants. Then I noticed the “tomatoes” were actually red, round Christmas ornaments, which started small but were replaced with larger ones as the season wore on.
 
Well, from what i remember from Botony class back in my college years. Tomato plant leaves are toxic. It would probally make you sick. Or even worse, get an allergic reaction and swell up your airway. Not recommended. Besides, if it were true,everybody be smoking it.
 
Over 50 years ago I was at a lodge-bar and this weirdo was telling us boys that he could get a high by replaceing the middle of a ciggerett with ground up aspirn with tobbacco on each end and proceeded to demostraight. He also claimed he was or had been johnny rays bodyguard. That didnt stop clarance from throwing him out on his ear when he heard what was going on! Anyone ever hear about that before?
 
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