WINOL week 5: The last 1500 years of smoking

The 9^th March 2011 is Non-Smoking Day. With many undoubtedly trying to ditch the fags, I take a look back at the history of smoking and how it has transformed over the last 1500 years. 

• It all started way back in 6000 BC when tobacco was grown in America by native Americans.
• Then, in 1000 BC they found that they could smoke and chew tobacco, for their own curiosity and enjoyment.
• Historians have cited Rodrigo de Jerez as the first European smoker, back in 1493 AD. An explorer, he had his first taste of tobacco in Cuba, where he smoked a cigar. The unknown hobby, landed him in prison for three years, as lighting up in public led the Spaniards to take action. Little did they know that they were to become the first enforcers of the anti-smoking campaign.
• There are various famous candidates for who was the first to deliver tobacco into England:

• History seems to indicate that Sir John Hawkins was the first individual to bring tobacco to the UK. The first slave trader took various visits to Africa and the Caribbean and so is likely to of transported the tobacco between 1532 and 1595.
• It may have been Sir Francis Drake between 1541 and 1596. Being the first person to sail around the world, could have brought him into contact with tobacco.
• Or it might have been Richard Grenville, a mariner between 1542 and 1591.
• Although he did not discover it, Sir Walter Raleigh popularised it between 1552 and 1618, when Elizabeth 1 was Monarch.
•  In 1604, King James 1 published ‘A Counterblast to Tobacco’, describing the plant as an ‘invention of Satan’ and banned the use of tobacco in all London pubs. He later contradicted himself, reducing taxes on tobacco and ‘nationalising’ the diminishing industry.
• In 1595, an eponymous book on tobacco was published.
• In certain eastern countries, including Turkey, Persia and India, the death penalty was prescribed in an attempt to deter individuals from smoking. Slitting of wrists and flogging was also a common measure in Russia, where a tobacco court was set up to deal with breaches of law during the period between 1596 and 1645.
• When the 17^th century arrived, smoking was becoming increasingly popular among Europeans, despite Pope Clement V111, threatening to excommunicate anyone who smoked in a holy place.
• In 1830, the first Cuban ‘seegars’ were sold in St James’ Street, by Robert Lewis.
• The first rolled up cigarette was made in 1832. Today, this is commonly referred to as a ‘rollie’.
• Walworth, England, 1856, saw the arrival of the first cigarette factory. It was owned by Robert Golag, a veteran of the Crimean war.
• The mid 19^th century saw the first fears concerning smoking raised, in an issue of The Lancet.
• With the turn of the 20^th century, came the realisation that smoking had become a way of life; a normality. It was common for men to own a smoking jacket and it became  the custom to have a cigar after dinner.
• At the start of WW1, cigarette rations were introduced and smoking visibly increased among soldiers.
• The mid 20^th century saw the first piece of leading research indicating a link between lung cancer and smoking. Then, Professor Richard Doll and Bradford Hill had their research published in the British Medical Journal and sparked a turning point in professional’s attitudes towards smoking.
• The UK government bans the use of cigarette advertisements on television in 1965.
• The UK government bans cigarette advertisements on the radio in 1971 and an agreement is made voluntarily between tobacco companies to print health warnings on packs of cigarettes, throughout the UK.
• In 1992, the first nicotine patches were introduced.
• In 1994, Macdonalds decided to ban smoking in all its restaurents. Diana Castano, the widow of a lung cancer sufferer filed a case against the tobacco industry in general. From this, millions of individuals came forward and a team of 60 lawyers were needed for the plaintiffs.
• In 1999, the Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places was launched by the hospitality industry. Restaurants and pubs agree to put more signs up, explaining to customers their smoking policy and also introducing further non-smoking areas. Secondly, the UK Health and Safety Commission first expressed its concerns about smoking at work. 
• In 2000, Gary Cullen went to court and was given back 5,000 cigarettes, seized by customs at Dover, who initially rejected his claim that they were for personal use.
• In 2002, the British Medical association claimed that ‘there is no safe level of environmental tobacco smoke’. The UK government is forced to change the amount of cigarettes that can be channel-crossed from 800 to 3,200 per person.
• In 2003, the UK bans all advertising and promotion of tobacco.
• In 2004, Ireland bans smoking in all enclosed public places including bars, restaurants, pubs and clubs.
• 2006 sees Scotland also introducing a ban on smoking in all enclosed public places. These include, pubs, clubs and even some outdoor areas. A ban on smoking in outdoor parks had also been given the go-ahead subject to certain guidelines given to local councils.
• In 2007, Members of Parliament voted in favour of a total ban on smoking in all public places, in England and Wales.
• In the UK, in 2007, the minimum age to buy cigarettes in the UK rose from the age of 16 to 18. Also, as a result of the Health Act 2006, smoking is banned in mostly all enclosed public spaces. Outdoor smoking shelters are required to have at least half the area open to avoid being defined as enclosed. A fine of up to £2,500 is the punishment for businesses failing to comply. The smoking ban gets under way in both Northern Ireland and Wales. England’s NHS adopts the term ‘smoke free.’

So there you have it, 1500 years of a smoking Britain. What will the next 1500 deliver? Will we take a u-turn like King James 1 or continue to fight against the effects of tobacco?


By Natasha Spencer


Attribution
1st photograph by SuperFantastic
2nd photograph by incurable_hippie