Answer:
North Carolina.
Where, when and why did people start smoking tobacco?
There are various ways to use tobacco as a stimulant, in addition to smoking, and the majority of them have been around for thousands of years (5000 some reckon).
Of course, because the tobacco plant is indigenous to South America, the earliest users were there. Nobody really knows when humans first started using it, but by the time it became clear, shamanistic ceremonies were already using it. Both the Chinese and the Scythians used incense and cannabis to attain similar results. Herodotus saw them burning hemp seeds and records this:
It immediately starts to smoke, emitting a vapour that is superior to any vapour bath one might find in Greece. The Scythians are so happy about it that they yell with delight.
The Tzeltal Maya still hold ceremonies where 13 calabashes of tobacco are burnt during New Year's, continuing a tradition started by the Aztecs, who even had a god named Cihuacoahuatl whose body was formed of tobacco. There is proof that the Maya and Aztecs used it extensively, both for ritual purposes and for leisure. Although no one has been able to determine if what they smoked was combined with hallucinogens or was simply a very potent crop of pure tobacco, observations from the Spanish who came into contact with them suggest that there was something other than just the tobacco in what they smoked.
When the Europeans first came, about 1500, they obviously thought the notion was good since in 1560 tobacco was brought to Europe, and from there, the rest of the globe. Like opium and other narcotics, it was initially perceived as an unusual medicine but quickly developed into a recreational tool as well. Native American tribes really utilized rolls rather than pipes; the "Peace Pipe" that has come to be associated with them was actually a re-export from Europe.
Thanks!
- Eddie