[16] Tobacco was released close to 1600 by French retailers in what currently is present day-day The Gambia and Senegal. At the same time caravans from Morocco introduced tobacco to the areas all-around Timbuktu along with the Portuguese brought the commodity (as well as the plant) to southern Africa, https://sethbumeu.wikicorrespondent.com/6169887/the_ultimate_guide_to_tabacco