I saw this on "Pipes Magazine" and thought I'd re-post it here.
http://www.leffingwell.com/download/latakia2013.pdf
http://www.leffingwell.com/download/latakia2013.pdf
...suggests that Pistacia lentiscus (Mastic) is an important contributor to the smoke curing process."
Bob
Wikipedia said:"Originally a liquid, mastic is sun-dried into drops of hard brittle translucent resin. When chewed, the resin softens and becomes a bright white and opaque gum. The flavor is bitter at first, but after some chewing, it releases a refreshing, slightly pine or cedar-like flavor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastic_(plant_resin)
Rumor has it that this analysis was paid for by a chemical company that makes flavorings. They (can't remember their name) have a synthetic Perique flavor they sell so they were probably looking to do the same thing with Latakia.