Nicotine showed up everywhere in an average of a third of the mummies from each site. Her findings have appeared in ten articles in medical and archeological journals. Recently, other labs have begun testing Egyptian mummies and finding nicotine. One might think that such surprising findings would cause an uproar in the Egyptological community. In fact, beyond Balabanova's pathology results, there has not been one publication on the subject in the last six years.
Few archeologists are even willing to discuss the issue.
Of the nearly two dozen Egyptologists contacted for this article, only three agreed to talk about it-only two on the record. Those who are willing do so only to state the case against the findings. Paul Manuelian, an Egyptologist at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, points to the contents of Egyptian tombs and the paintings on their walls. These included representations of everything the tomb's occupant would need in their next life including such luxuries as beer and opium. But not one tobacco or coca leaf has ever been found.