Two Thai Workers Hospitalized After Poisoning From Wild Tobacco Plant Soup in Israel

Two Thai foreign workers in their 40s were admitted to intensive care at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa after suffering severe poisoning from consuming soup made from a wild tobacco plant they had picked near their residence. The men collected Nicotiana glauca, a common wild tobacco species in Israel, prepared it into soup, and shortly after ingestion began showing symptoms of acute poisoning. One patient remains in critical condition, sedated and on a ventilator due to respiratory distress, while the other has improved and was transferred to an internal medicine ward for further observation.

The patients arrived at the hospital with the plant itself, which helped medical staff quickly diagnose and treat the poisoning. According to Dr. Yael Luria, head of the National Poison Information Center at Rambam, Nicotiana glauca grows widely across Israel in open fields, vacant lots, construction sites, and near garbage dumps. The toxic compound Anabasine in the plant acts similarly to nicotine and can cause gastrointestinal irritation, excessive salivation, dizziness, headaches, tremors, blood pressure and heart rate changes, central nervous system damage, seizures, and loss of consciousness.

Nurses and doctors noted this was an unprecedented poisoning case at the hospital. The incident highlights the dangers of foraging wild plants without proper knowledge, especially those containing potent toxins like Anabasine. Medical teams continue to monitor the patients’ conditions closely as they recover.