Althusian Tobacco

Althusian "tobacco" (to use the closest English analog for the native name of the plant) is a broad-leafed, bushy plant which is native to the equatorial regions of Althus. Althusians guard it very closely, but it would be hard to cultivate the plant outside of its native climate regardless.
Despite being called tobacco for its visual similarities to the plant on Earth, the leaves, when smoked, have a naturally smooth, earthy flavor and produce an airy high. The smoke has a very faint aroma, described slightly differently by different people. However, in order to be smoked, the leaves must be meticulously processed. Traditional, more time-consuming techniques are preferred, as it's believed they produce a better flavor. Connoisseurs of Althusian tobacco products commonly claim that anything produced by modernized methods has a slightly "metallic" taste, souring the experience. The fact that mechanization rushes the process is also a factor.
Tobacco products derived from this plant in particular thus fall into two categories: a cheap end, produced mechanically, and an expensive end, produced by hand. The cigar possessed by Epzo during the final Rally of the Twelve Galaxies fell into the latter category.
Presently, two Althusian currencies, as well as the forvalar, are tied to the value of Althusian tobacco. This has a long history of leading to confounding and unexpected behavioral changes when the value of the crop changes even slightly.