Tabacum appears in 9 of the 13 classic books on Similia. Each was written to do a different job — here is what each adds on this remedy, with the opening of its entry.
- Allen HC — The keynotes that separate this remedy from its nearest neighbours.
“Tobacco. (Solanaceae) Diseases originating in cerebral irritation followed by marked irritation of functions of vagi. Emaciation of cheeks and back. Complete prostration of entire muscular system. Sensation of excessive wretchedness. Icy coldness of surface; covered with cold sweat . Symptoms occur in paroxysyms …”
- Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“Nicotiana tabacum, Linn. Natural order , Solanaceæ. Common name , Tobacco. Preparation , Tincture of the leaves. Authorities. ( 1 to 3 , from Hartlaub and Trinks).”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Tobacco The symptomatology of Tabacum is exceedingly well marked. The nausea, giddiness, death-like pallor, vomiting, icy coldness, and sweat, with the intermittent pulse, are all most characteristic. Has marked antiseptic qualities, antidotal to cholera germs. Complete prostration of the entire muscular system…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“ANGINA PECTORIS BLOWS, shocks, thrusts, crash, explosions, etc. (Comp. Shattered): COLLAPSE, sudden prostration, etc. FORCED, thru a narrow opening, as if NAUSEA SWAYING, swinging, etc. Agg., car or seasickness, etc. VERTIGO”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Nicotiana tabacum. Tobacco. N. O. Solanaceæ. Tincture of the fresh leaves collected before the flowers are developed. Amaurosis / Anæmia / Angina pectoris / Anus, prolapse of / Apoplexy / Asthma / Backache / Brain, anæmia of / Brain-fag / Catalepsy / Cholera / Cholera infantum / Colour-blindness / Constipation /…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Tobacco. Solanaceæ. Introduced by Hartlaub. The provers were Nenning, Schreter, Hausbrand, Hartlaub and Trink's Mat. Med. ; Seidel's Collection, A. H. Z., vol. 12, p. 150 ; toxicological effects, Allen's Encyclopædia, vol. 9, p. 467 . CLINICAL AUTHORITIES. Sick-headache , Alley, N. A. J. H., vol. 2, p. 394 ; Gastric…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Cheerful, merry, loquacious. Great restlessness, anguish, melancholy. Vertigo, with qualmishness of the stomach. Death-like paleness of the face, with sick stomach. Heat and redness of the left cheek (towards evening). The right cheek glowing, the other pale. Violent tearing in the (right) facial bones and teeth…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: tobacco. Symptoms occur in paroxysms (asthma, sick headache, vertigo and sneezing) (A.). Icy coldness of the surface, covered with cold sweat (Camph., Colch., Carb-V., Sec., Verat.) (N.). Death-like pallor (Ars., Carb-V., Sec.) (D.). Nervous tremor and debility (Gels., Kali-P., Lach., Tarant.) (D.)…”
