Two men hospitalized with acute poisoning after consuming wild tobacco plant

Two Thai workers, in their 40s, have been hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa due to acute poisoning from the bush tobacco plant (Nicotiana glauca), the hospital says.

One patient, sedated and on a ventilator, is in serious condition after developing respiratory distress. The other patient’s condition has improved, but he is still under observation.

The two men picked the plant near Haifa on Saturday, and then made soup with it. They began to suffer from symptoms indicative of poisoning a few hours later.

“We have never encountered a case of poisoning like this, and the fact that they arrived with the plant certainly helped expedite the diagnosis and treatment given to them,” says Osnat Aspis, head nurse in the hospital’s critical care division.

The National Poison Information Center at Rambam says that bush tobacco (Nicotiana glauca) is the only tobacco species that grows wild in Israel.

“The plant is common in almost all regions of the country,” says Dr. Yael Luria, director of the center. She says the toxic substance in the plant is similar to nicotine.

Ingestion of plant parts may cause irritation of the digestive system, including nausea and vomiting, as well as central nervous system damage.

“The severity of poisoning depends on the amount ingested,” she says.

“Accidental contact with this plant does not cause poisoning, but it is important to warn the public not to pick or prepare tea or stew from plants that have not been identified carefully by experts,” explains Dr. Luria.