Tobacco in the Shadows: The Secret Practice of Intravaginal Use

It sounds like the sort of myth whispered in hushed tones, but in corners of The Gambia and Zambia, a secret ritual has taken root—quite literally. Powdered tobacco, often mixed with mysterious additives, isn’t just being sniffed, chewed, or smoked. It’s being tucked inside the vagina.

Known locally as taba in The Gambia and insunko in Zambia, this strange repurposing of smokeless tobacco is said to carry benefits that sound equal parts hopeful and hazardous. Older women once used it as a boredom cure or headache remedy. Younger women, however, are reported to be seeking something else entirely: a “youthful,” “tight” vagina said to heighten their partner’s pleasure. Vendors, sometimes masquerading as traditional healers, even market it as a cure-all—epilepsy, infertility, hypertension, candidiasis, diabetes, arthritis, and more.

The reasoning, though culturally layered, is tangled with superstition, social pressures, and misinformation. The idea that ground tobacco could function as medicine or sexual enhancement agent may be alluring, but the body tells a different story. Tobacco is chemically caustic. Introduced into the delicate tissues of the vagina, it can cause burns, chronic irritation, and lasting damage. The thin mucous membranes absorb nicotine and other toxic compounds quickly, heightening risks far beyond the usual dangers of smoking or chewing.

Yet the practice persists, shielded by tradition, secrecy, and a lack of public awareness. Civil society organizations working in women’s health confirm its presence across several countries, though reliable data is scarce. What exists are stories—of women believing in quick fixes, of cultural whispers passed through generations, and of marketplaces where packets of tobacco are sold as “intimate medicine.”

The oddity lies not only in the method of use, but in how everyday substances can be reimagined under the pressures of desire, gender expectations, and health myths. To the outsider, it’s baffling. To insiders, it is whispered knowledge—a practice straddling the line between remedy and risk.

But one truth remains clear: the vagina is not a testing ground for tobacco. What promises to “tighten” may only scar, and what claims to “heal” may well harm.