The radical perspective of the ruler on tobacco did not prevent him from consuming opiate paste, a combination of amber, opium and herbs considered a panacea at the Ottoman High Gate.ĭuring the Phanariot period, rulers and high-rank boyars preferred Turkish tobacco, brought from the cities on the banks of the Danube, while the more “needy” boyars were content with local tobacco. “It weakens the intelligence” and some smokers deprived of “nicotian”, overwhelmed with rage, end up “screaming like wolves”. The effects on the mind were equally significant. The body becomes weak and has a characteristic odor. “Discourse against tobacco”, the book of the ruler Nicolae Mavrocordat (1680-1730), written at the beginning of the 18th century but published only in 1786, has a strong moralizing content and describes the effects of consuming “broadleaf weeds”, “the icon of eternal hell”, on the human body and psyche. “They smoked at the royal courts, the boyars smoked at home or on their walks, the people smoked in cafes, taverns, on the streets and everywhere.” The amplitude of the smoking custom developed during the Phanariot rule could not be diminished by restrictive methods or religious propaganda. Tobacco was cultivated and traded in the Romanian Principalities since the seventeenth century, as evidenced by the taxes („tobacco cultivation tax”) and customs duties (“outside tax” or “inside tax”) collected.
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