The Problem of Teens and Smoking So you think you want to start smoking? Before I go into teens and smoking, I thought I’d tell you a little about the history and other important facts about nicotine and tobacco. Nicotine is the prime alkaloid of tobacco. It is a plant belonging to the genus Nicotina. More than sixty species belong to this genus. Although N.tobacum is the only one sold for commercial use. Indians were the first people to start smoking tobacco. Then as soon as Columbus discovered America, everyone else started to smoke it, chew it, and snuff it; tobacco was born. Then Spanish sailors brought it to Spain and Portug