When the Smoke Clears Magic remedy that heals all or vice that holds us all hostage? Tobacco has played a critical role in not only American history but also Virginian history. A simple crop that is no more complicated than most plants but what makes it so special is its ability to relieve stress. This crop did not arrive in Europe or any other place until the colonial era. It is widely believed that the indigenous people of the Americas discovered tobacco. The native Americans used tobacco primarily for what they believed was its healing properties and for ceremonial purposes. Over time early explorers began to bring back samples of tobacco to their own respective countries. Word quickly spread across Europe resulting in a high …show more content…
Starting in the 1990's, people were no longer permitted to smoke on airlines or busses. Many people started to sue the industry for medical reimbursement. Mississippi was the first state to sue tobacco industries in the hope that they would be responsible for smokers Medicaid bills. Tobacco is big business and like all big business it has incredible resources when backed against a wall. Now in the modern age, tobacco related products are regulated by the FDA along with having multiple warning labels on the packaging. Federal taxes are raised for tobacco and many States follow that example. It is nearly impossible to smoke inside any buildings or restaurants making it even more difficult to be a smoker. But yet somehow the Tobacco industry is alive and well. Initially there were no CEO's or lawsuits, it was just the demand of kings and the supply of colonies. John Rolfe never could have imagined how big of a role tobacco would have in society. For him and other colonies it was not a drug or something harmful. It was what kept boats coming back. It was what kept weapons and tools on those boats and it was what kept England interested. Without tobacco the investment into the new worlds would not have been worth the cost. Hypothetically you could argue that if it were not for tobacco we would not even be a country. Truly the value of tobacco was immeasurable for the colonists. It built a bridge to the civilized world. But that bridge was not
The people of England then traded with the Dutch, increasing demand for tobacco (Pecquet 471). Sir Walter Raleigh also contributed to the introduction of smoking tobacco in America and to the English queen, Elizabeth I (Cotton 2-3). The settlers of Roanoke Island smoked tobacco and soon presented the idea of smoking tobacco in court which became a new trend (3). Later on, as the demand for tobacco rose, more labor was needed to supply enough to satisfy the tobacco requirement ("The Growth of the Tobacco " 3).
However, these colonists soon realized there was no gold, and they tried to find a new way to make a profit. This led to the emergence of the Tobacco industry. John Rolfe was the father of this industry, and ultimately this crop became an economic savior to the Virginia Colony. Tobacco was a way for the colonists to begin making a profit, and it began to sweep across Europe nearly being insatiable. This created a greed for land in order to plant more tobacco.
In addition to the American Indians’ discovery of the tobacco plant, the farmers of the Virginia Colony undoubtedly changed tobacco forever. In 1660, English factories were stocked to the brim with tobacco which caused the product’s price to drop immensely. The colonists
Society, in the beginning, was rough for everyone, even those who owned land or had some type of authority. Tobacco became the main source of income for most of the colonies, especially in Maryland and Virginia. This
Throughout the time of the Roanoke catastrophe and the hardships of Jamestown, tobacco made its grand introduction as America’s newest cash commodity that would allow success to flourish in Virginia, with a permanent English presence. Tobacco was formally popularized by a man named John Rolfe in the year 1610 and became the top resource that helped the future of this colony thrive. Tobacco did all of this by turning an
The 1600’s was a period of time where the American colonies began to form solid sovereign states. In an effort to find profitable resources that can be used to send back to Europe, one Virginia colonist John Rolfe started experimenting with tobacco in 1612 seeing how well it fared in the Southern soil which inevitably yielded favorable results. Upon this discovery, the tobacco industry led its engines at full steam ahead. In 1615, an estimated 2,000 pounds was exported which grew over the next 14 years to 1.5 million pounds (Lawson, 44). This rapid increase was a result of poor immigrants coming from Europe under the
The first reason that tobacco should be illegal is because of its effects on the United States economy. In the United States tobacco has harmed the economy because it has taken away from the price discounts that can be given out for products because tobacco products alone account for 84.3% of all of these discounts.This means that for things that people require to live, like food or water , have not received the discounts that they may require. The prices of have increased and people are spending more on products that they need while tobacco products which are not essential to live have been received the discounts. Another example is the amount of money spent on treating. In the United States alone “nearly $170 billion in direct medical care for adults” who suffer from a tobacco related illness (). This means that if tobacco was made illegal the amount of money spent on the medical bills could be put to use for other expenses. With the repurposing of this money it can help with research into deadly diseases, be put to save others lives, or help give money to those who need it. These are some reasons why tobacco should be illegal.
Once the English back home heard the good news, thousands of settlers flocked to Virginia to try and get rich quick by planting tobacco, whether they came over as free planters or indentured servants. Tobacco proved to be very profitable and turned poor farmers into rich men in short periods of time, leading to what was called the Tobacco boom. It became a main export of the colonies and reaped huge profits. When there were not many ways for colonists to make money and earn a living, tobacco came just in time to help poor farmers create an economy for themselves and the taxation of tobacco earned profits for the Virginia Company of London. The 17th century was a time of growth for the Europeans in terms of creating a thriving settlement colony, but sadly a time of decline for the Native Americans. Tobacco farming and a chance at a new life free from religious persecution and poverty attracted and brought over thousands of settlers aiming to get rich, and with them they also brought many diseases, religions, means of trade, and war. These lands were being settled on by Europeans in large acreage to produce tobacco, but that meant that land was being stripped away from Native Americans. Natives and Europeans would come to fight for control of these territories in Virginia and New England in the following years. With its introduction into the
Although it remains a large portion of the U.S’ economy, tobacco smoking can lead to a variety of diseases and disorders that affect the user. The effects of smoking tobacco not only affect the user but surrounding people as well: permanently destroying their lungs and children, increasing the chances of diseases and of cancer.
The movie Smoke Signals is based on the series of short stories written by Sherman Alexie. Just like any movie, there is a meaning to it. Before this movie, when I thought of the phrase "Native American" I thought of things like feathers and societies that were impeccable. But after watching the movie, Smoke Signals, it portrays what being a Native American really means. It is not all fun and games. The protagonist, Victor Joseph, has many hard aspects of his life, but throughout it all he grows mentally. His personality in the beginning of the movie is mean and despicable, he is filled with wrath, but as the movie goes on his personality grows gradually. By the ending of the movie, he was a nicer and kinder.
During a much more civilized era in our country, none of this could have happened. Nazi-like vilification tactics had to be employed whereby decent Americans were convinced that both smokers and tobacco companies are two groups of people deserving of any treatment.
Why would the government legalize something this toxic horrifying and deadly? Maybe because they benefit from it. The government and people’s excuses for legalizing tobacco is that is freedom and choice and that they choose their own fate. Yes that maybe true, but second-hand smoke also does harm on people as well. In the U.S., 3,000 people die each year from secondhand smoke-related lung cancer.
The use of tobacco is a very controversial topic here in the United States. The harmful side effects of tobacco are well known and consequently, many believe that it should be outlawed. Though this has not yet occurred, constant regulations on the industry and
The war on smoking has existed for decades. With the advent of more tenacious laws prohibiting smoking in public locations, and most recently Minnesota’s historic tobacco settlement, many actions against “Big Tobacco” have become more successful. Anti-smoking campaigns have become more confrontational, directly targeting tobacco companies in an effort to expose its manipulative and illegal marketing tactics. On the surface, last November's $206 billion settlement agreement between the tobacco companies and 46 states looks like a serious blow for Big Tobacco. In addition to the money, it contains some important concessions: a ban on outdoor advertising, limits on
The tobacco industry kills more people in North America from Monday to Thursday of each week than the terrorists murdered in total on September 11, 2001. That sounds unrealistic, doesn’t it? Well, smoking is an epidemic that affects us all, whether you are a smoker or you aren’t. In order to stop this epidemic, we need to