Intravaginal insertion of tobacco among women in sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction

Intravaginal tobacco use is the practice of inserting powdered or ground tobacco (often mixed with other substances) into the vagina.1–3Although there are very few published studies on intravaginal tobacco use, these studies and evidence gathered from staff of a civil society organisation that provides support to women suggests that it is being practised in several countries.1–4 Intravaginal tobacco goes by different names. In The Gambia, a tobacco product called ‘taba’ in Mandinaka (a local language) has been consumed for generations through smoking, snuffing, chewing, licking or placing it under the tongue. In recent years, a similar powdered tobacco product (often modified by adding other substances) bearing the same name, taba (figure 1), is in circulation and used mostly by women intravaginally. A recent study in Zambia revealed that a form of smokeless tobacco…

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