Tobacco Smoking: A History Of

Tobacco consumption has been practiced for thousands of years. The tobacco plant has been cultivated in America since the 17th century and since then it has been utilized in diverse ways. The shape of smoking tobacco by rolling the leaves in fine paper was usually done by hand, which reduced the habit of smoking.

Already in 1883, James Bonsack developed a device that was able to roll cigarettes and thus make thousands of cigarette sticks per day. Several years ago Bonsack opened a business known as the American Tobacco Company, which was the first company to manufacture cigarettes on a large scale. The mechanized production of cigarettes broadly raised the global recognition of cigarette consumption, and made tobacco products much more reachable to those who wanted to indulge in cigarettes.

In the late 19th century cigarettes were marketed in packages and promoted all through the United States. Those smokes were packaged into boxes of ten that were advertised with the name of the company that produced them and diverse logos and styles. The packages of ten cigarettes were offered for five cents each. Cigarette packages were created of paper with a small card put in to support the package. Generally those cards had eye-catching images that had an advertising function, and people started to pick up and advertise these cigarette cards.

Cigarette brands possessed different tastes and also bore diverse advertising on their cards. For instance, Fragrant Rose cigarettes, offered in the 1880s, included cards with charming and flowery pictures on them to match with their name. Some other famous brands of the 19th century were Sweet Caporal, Lone Jack, and Three Kings. It was not until the early 20th century that such makers as Philip Morris, the creator of Marlboro cigarettes, started their activity.

The advancement of the cigarette industry persisted till the first half of the 20th century. Cigarette consumption originally started out as a habit for soldiers; but with the mechanization of cigarette manufacturing, then followed by the appeal of cards, much more people started to light up cigarettes as just for fun. In the 1920s, the price of a package of cigarettes started from 15 cents, depending on quality and brand.

The biggest cigarette companies of those times have today became the giants of the industry. Two of the greatest manufacturers, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Philip Morris turned into the international companies with holdings all over the world. The use of cigarettes and the entire tobacco industry has modified repeatedly since its early origins. Numerous people have their own views regarding smoking tobacco, but its history is an exciting story of the evolution of a popular habit.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the first ever public health treaty, entered into force on February 27, 2005. The FCTC is an international response to an international problem. The spread of the tobacco epidemic is recognized as a global concern, with serious consequences for public health; and the FCTC is the first international legal instrument designed to promote multilateral cooperation and national action to reduce the growth and spread of tobacco use.