National Cancer Institute National Cancer Institute
U.S. National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute
NCI Home Cancer Topics Clinical Trials Cancer Statistics Research & Funding News About NCI
Dictionary of Cancer Terms
In EnglishEn español
Page Options
Print This Page  Print This Page
More NCI Dictionaries
NCI Drug Dictionary

Glossary of Statistical Terms

NCI Dictionary of Genetics Terms

Terminology Resources
Quit Smoking Today
Search for
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
In EnglishEn español

tobacco (tuh-BA-koh)

 A plant with leaves that have high levels of the addictive chemical nicotine. The leaves may be smoked (in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes), applied to the gums (as dipping and chewing tobacco), or inhaled (as snuff). Tobacco leaves also contain many cancer-causing chemicals, and tobacco use and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke have been linked to many types of cancer and other diseases. The scientific name is Nicotiana tabacum.



Previous Definitions:TNF-bound colloidal gold, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, TNFerade, TNM staging system, TNP-470
Next Definitions:tocladesine, tomography, tomotherapy, tonga, tongue cancer

A Service of the National Cancer Institute
Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health USA.gov