it was not until the mid-16th century that portuguese settlers began to manufacture cigarettes in brazil for their widespread export and sale in europe - after the arrival of the europeans, it became one of the primary products driving the colonization of indigenous peoples, as well as the enslavement of africans for labor.

while aztecs and mayans, among other ancient tribes, would often smoke using pipes, cigars and cigarettes became another means of smoking tobacco - tribes in north, central, and south america used various plant leaves as wrappers.

later in spain they began using maize and finally, fine paper - nowadays, approximately 135,000 farmers in brazil cite the cultivation of tobacco as their main source of income.