The History of Smoking: How Did Smoking Start?

Discovery of tobacco plant

Before people started smoking, tobacco had yet to be discovered. The tobacco plant was first used by the Indians of America. Here the tobacco plant grew and the Indians used it as a medicine. They also found out that it was pleasant to light fires with the leaves. Therefore they started drying the leaves so that they could roll them up and light them: the first idea of a cigarette.

In 1492 Columbus discovered America. He received dried tobacco leaves from the Indians and took them back to Europe. The plant spread through Europe and became more and more popular. Tobacco was thought to be healthy and was used as a medicine. In those days, therefore, many people smoked. cuvie plus

Increased smoking

From 1847 onwards the production of cigarettes started in London. In that time the cigarettes were all rolled by hand. In 1881 the mass production of cigarettes could start. The cigarette machine was invented, which made the production much easier and faster. Up to 7000 cigarettes could be made per hour.

There was a lot of advertising for cigarettes. One cigarette brand was supposed to be healthier than another. Texts like "More Doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette" were used in advertising. Pictures of, for instance, a doctor or dentist were used to tell what the best and healthiest cigarette was. Also texts like "Blow her in her face and she'll follow you anywhere" were used as advertising. Smoking was seen as tough and this image was widely advertised.

The many advertisements and the popularity of smoking led to a peak in the tobacco industry around the 1960s and 1970s. In the Netherlands, 90% of men and 42% of women smoked at that time. At that time, Dr Lenze Meinsma started telling the general public that smoking was harmful and could cause lung cancer. Most people did not believe him and did not take his statements seriously. It took years before people started to listen.

Counter-movement

At a certain point, the health risks of smoking became more and more widely known. From that time onwards, there were more regulations on smoking. From 1974, subsidies for anti-smoking campaigns were introduced by the government. From 1990, the introduction of the Tobacco Act in the Netherlands meant that smoking was banned in all public places. From 2016, there must be deterrent photographs on packets. There are many more regulations and more are added all the time.

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