Tobacco: The History and Why We Should Give It Up

Tobacco is a green seventeen leave plant that grows natively throughout North and South America. It’s related the potato, peppers, and the poisonous nightshade. One ounce of tobacco contains about 300,000 seeds! The Americans started to grow Tobacco during 6,000 B.C. In the early 1 B.C the American Indians started using tobacco in religious and medical practices. People us to believe that tobacco cured-all of their problems. It was used as dress wounds, pain killer, and chewing tobacco solved toothache. In October 15, 1492 the American Indians gave Christopher Columbus dried tobacco as a welcome gift. After Christopher Columbus left, he brought back tobacco to Europe; which then grew all over Europe. The reason tobacco was grown so much was because it was believed to have healing properties; that could cure anything from ripe breath to cancer. In 1571 a Spanish doctor named Nicolas Monardes wrote a book on medicinal plants and that tobacco could cure 36 health problems. In 1588 Thomas Harriet thought smoking a dose a day was a good idea. In the 1600’s tobacco was “as good as gold,” it was mostly used as money. During that time some people realized the dangerous effects of smoking. In 1610 Sir Francis Bacon tried to quit, but said it was really hard. Meanwhile in 1632, 12 years after the Mayflower had arrived at Plymouth Rock, smoking became illegal in the state of Massachusetts! In 1760, a New York company named Pierre Lorillard produced tobacco, cigars, and

Tobacco has been around in the world for over 2.5 million years. It was not until a few hundred years ago when the tobacco industry decided to put these crops into use and conjure up tobacco products for the community. A popular tobacco product in society is cigarettes, as they are cheap and simple to use. As long as one is over eighteen, acquiring cigarettes is a straightforward process for a reasonable price, albeit the sin tax. It was not until recently when cigarettes became widely controversial due to the plant containing nicotine, an addictive drug to the body. Aside from containing nicotine and other hazardous chemicals to the body, cigarettes also cause a whole host of health implications

cigarettes cost, on average, 7.50 depending on the state. It is not uncommon for the average smoker

With such an expansive history in Connecticut, the subject of tobacco is just as encompassing. With roots in Windsor colonial history through its height in the 1950s, sources try to capture it all at a surface level. Scholars have studied tobacco over time evaluating its role in the community at that moment in time. Over a variety of sources, overall the response to tobacco in Windsor has been positive as it serves as both an economic influence and a cultural one as well. Starting at one of the most recent sources, Brianna Dunlap looks at the entire Connecticut River valley as the backdrop as Connecticut’s tobacco industry in Connecticut Valley Tobacco. Published in 2016, Dunlap captures tobacco’s history starting at its roots in the 1600s through Cuba’s reopening trade ports in 2015. This book serves to establish Windsor’s connection with tobacco and how it changed over time to match the changing landscape around the tobacco sheds.

Tobacco has existed for long as we have known about history, but due to the negative effects of it to the broader community Tobacco has sparked greater controversy across the globe. Many people argue that it is the government’s responsibility to protect the individual but on the contrary some disagree and believe it’s up to the individual. This essay will elaborate above mentioned aspects and lead to a logical conclusion.

Many drugs are used, misused, and abused in American society today. Some of these carry stigma in the general population, forcing users into an underground drug subculture. Others are accepted and almost promoted under certain circumstances. Tobacco is one of those drugs. Tobacco will be discussed in the context of cigarette smoking. This is not to undermine the existence or danger of other forms of tobacco, but instead to have an exhaustive discussion of cigarette smoking and its societal impact. Cigarettes are a means of inhaling tobacco, where it enters the lungs and is absorbed through the blood vessels, traveling to the heart, from which it is finally pumped to the brain (Hogan, Gabrielsen, Luna, and Grothaus 2003:76). Cigarettes are detrimental to society because they not only affect the user who chooses to smoke; they impact people around them through second-hand and residual smoke. The damage done by cigarettes is not impossible to address. Successful prevention measures are already in place, but this paper intends to suggest other more direct measures, especially related to statutory regulations.

Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. According to the American Lung Association in 2009, 20.6% of adults were current smokers. In 1970, the United States banned television and radio advertisements of cigarettes. Across the world countries battle similar issues in how to help prevent deaths, lower healthcare costs, and educate the population. Countries have banned advertising, posted health causes, renamed brands, and even included informational fliers in packs of cigarettes. In 2001, The Government of India decided to ban the advertising of cigarettes. This ban was created to help the youth of India and hoped to reduce the amount of future smokers. The proposal of this restriction caused debates between the government, advertising companies, and tobacco manufacturers. The supporting and dismantling arguments for these ethical and commercial causes of the ban have enabled the government to make their final decision.

Now, more than ever, more and more people are beginning to look at tobacco use as a major public health concern. It is nineteen ninety nine, and the number of smokers is rising while the average age of smoking initiation decreases. There are those that believe using tobacco of any type should be illegal, or at least restricted. Others believe it is up to the person to choose whether to use tobacco products or not, however most of these people believe tobacco companies should warn their customers of their products harmful affects.

“Loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, and dangerous to the lungs.” says King James of England and Scotland, describing smoking in 1604 (Connolly 13). Tobacco use kills millions of people a year but still only has few legal restrictions. Many argue that the use of tobacco is a right we have in the United States but the harm that it does to the innocent may outweigh those rights. Because the use of tobacco negatively impacts the health of both the users and those around them, all tobacco products and their use should be illegal.

With cigarettes costing the smoker $5.51 a pack, if an individual smokes one pack of cigarettes a day it costs him or her $2,011.15 a year. The cost to society and the state’s economy totals $6,588.25 a year, for each one pack a day smoker.

Cigarette sales in the United States is the highest selling tobacco product on the market. “During 2016, about 258 billion cigarettes were sold in the

Tobacco was a very important commodity in history. It was important economically as it aided many colonies. Without tobacco, many large corporations such as the Virginia Company, would have made money while aiding the growth of Virginia as well. The progress that has been made about tobacco’s medical use is exponential, as many in modern age know now that tobacco is not beneficial for one’s health and holds more harm than good. Tobacco was a product that was of great economical value and is still of great value in modern age. Tobacco continues to be a great money maker as all global profits total to $35 billion and at least 1 billion people smoking tobacco worldwide. Regardless of the medical issues with tobacco that doctors have discovered

Tobacco has been around in the world for over 2.5 million years. It was not until a few hundred years ago when the tobacco industry decided to put these crops into use and conjure up tobacco products for the community. A popular tobacco product in society is cigarettes, as they are cheap and simple to use. As long as one is over eighteen, acquiring cigarettes is a straightforward process for a reasonable price, albeit the sin tax. It was not until recently when cigarettes became widely controversial due to the plant containing nicotine, an addictive drug to the body. Aside from containing nicotine and other hazardous chemicals to the body, cigarettes also cause a whole host of health implications to the user and the people around him or

One of the largest issues today is adolescent smoking. According to a heath based website, nearly 90% of adult smokers start while they are still teens and they never intend to get hooked. They may start by bumming a cigarette or two from a friend at a party, and then go on to buying an occasional pack. Soon they realize that they can't go without that pack. They've gotten used to reaching for a cigarette first thing in the morning, after meals, or during any stressful time. They become addicted, both physically and psychologically. According to the American Lung Association, each day 6,000 children under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette. Almost 2,000 of them will become regular smokers – that’s 757, 000 new smokers annually!

As discussed on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, “tobacco use costs the United States billions of dollars each year. The total economic cost of smoking is more than $300 billion a year, which include nearly $170 billion spent on tobacco-related