Tobacco can be used for unconventional applications such as medicines or fuel. Does this mean the golden leaf has a future even if people stop smoking? Nobody could deny that some important and promising research is being conducted into alternative uses of leaf tobacco, which apparently offers, among other things, the possibility of producing life-saving drugs at relatively low cost. But while this research and the potentiel that it holds will be seen by many people as being good news for society at large, others will be concerned that much of the tobacco in question is being genetically modified, a process that carries unacceptable risks in their eyes.