Tobacco is an annual, with a long fibrous root, stem erect, round, hairy, and viscid; it branches near the top and is from 3 to 6 feet high. Leaves large, numerous, alternate, sessile, somewhat decurrent, ovate, lanceolate, pointed, entire, slightly viscid and hairy, pale-green colour, brittle, narcotic odour, with a nauseous, bitter acrid taste.

Medicinally it is used as a sedative, diuretic, expectorant, discutient, and sialagogue, and internally only as an emetic, when all other emetics fail. The leaves are antispasmodic, discutient, diuretic, emetic, expectorant, irritant, narcotic, sedative and sialagogue.

Nicotine, nor-nicotine, nicotyrine, anabasine and anatabine (leaf).

Alleviating spasms, as a sedative, for swolen areas (due to rheumatism) and skin diseases (leaf); toothache (seed); used externally in the treatment of rheumatic swelling, skin diseases and scorpion stings; applied to stings in order to relieve the pain (wet tobacco leaves).

Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.