Pine tar along with many other ingredients due to a lack of proof of their effectiveness. Some pine tar products contain creosote, a probable carcinogen. Creosote potentially may be produced when the pine wood is heated up to high temperatures in the creation of pine tar. Pine tar is also used in veterinary medicine as an expectorant and an antiseptic in chronic skin conditions. Pine tar Pine tar is a sticky material produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood in anoxic conditions (dry distillation or destructive distillation). The wood is rapidly decomposed by applying heat and pressure in a closed
Tar Heel History of a Southern State" (3rd edition, 1973) that North Carolina led the world in production of naval stores from about 1720 to 1870. At the time, tar was created by piling up pine logs and burning them until hot oil seeped out from a spout. The vast production of tar from North Carolina led many, including Walt Whitman, to give the derisive nickname of "Tarboilers" to the residents of North Carolina. North Carolina was nicknamed the "Tar and Turpentine State" because of this industry. Somehow, these terms evolved until the nickname Tar Heel was used to refer to residents