I don't think the temperature fluctuation will
harm the tobacco, per se; tobacco is a pretty hearty leaf and undergoes a lot of handling, moisture cycles and heat cycles in its processing (as we've been shown in the recent
Orlik factory tour videos, for example). What it
will do is age it
differently than a jar that was aged in a more controlled environment. Today I had a conversation with a chemist about the aerobic and anabolic process cycle with regard to aging, and he maintained that the "headspace", or the free air in a container, was exhausted of its oxygen content rather quickly. Then the slow aging processes begin within the leaf, and time becomes the critical variable in the equation. Depending on what the tobacco is, a variable--but consistently variable--temperature cycle might even yield positive results, with a red Virginia for example. Curious opportunity for study!