moreeasily [17]
.In1913,ReynoldsusedBurleytobaccofortheproductionofhisCamel cigarettes
[18] . This tobacco blend became the prototype for the American cigarette,
whereasBritishcigaretteswerealsoproducedwithVirginiatobacco. Comparedwiththeacridandstrong-tastingsmokeofcigars,cigarettesmokeismore
pleasant,andthiscanbeattributedtothepHofthesmoke [17]
.WherepHisinthealkaline range,nicotineinthesmokeispresentpredominantlyinitsfreeformbutisnotfoundin
thegaseousphase.Thissmokeisdificulttoinhalebecauseoftheacridtasteofnicotine. Thefactthatnicotineisneverthelessabsorbedwhenacigarissmokedisduetoitsslower
passageacrossthebuccalmucosa,themembraneliningthemouth [5]
. CigarettesmokingirstbecamewidespreadduringtheCrimeanWar1853–1856:sol-
diersbecameaccustomedtosmokingstrongRussiancigarettes,andtookthehabitback withthemtotheirowncountrieswhenhostilitiesended.OneSt.Petersburgcigarettefac-
torytheYenidseCompanyopeneditsirstsubsidiaryinDresdenin1862.Theirstcig- arette-makingmachine,withanhourlyoutputof3,600cigarettes,wasdisplayedbythe
SusiniCompanyfromHavanaattheParisWorldExhibitionin1867.Bythe1880s,US companiesfollowedsuitwiththeirowncigarette-makingmachines.Asaresult,produc-
tioncostsfelldramatically,newmarketsopenedup,andyoungpeoplearoundtheageof 18becameamajorconsumermarketfortheirsttime
[19] .Thus,smokingtookonanew
face:smokingasaleisurelypastimewasreplacedbysmokingatshortintervals,mainly asameansofcopingwithstress.Unlikethecigarorapipe,acigarettecanbesmokedin
3–5min:thesmokingbreakcanbeequatedwith“thetimeittakestosmokeacigarette”. ThecigarettecametosymbolisemoderntwentiethcenturylivingseeTable
1.1 .
Becausesmokingwasalwayssubjecttocertainrestrictions,itbothrepresentedsome- thing “special” and, in the nineteenth century, was invariably associated with political
freedommovements.FollowingtheoutbreakofAsianinluenzainthesummerof1831, cigarsmokinginpublicplaceswaspermittedasaprotectionagainstinfection
[7] ,andthe
righttosmokeinpublicwasonthelistofdemandsattheHambachFestivalin1832. Duringthestudentprotestsof1968,itwasevendemandedthatthebanonsmokingin
lecturetheatresbeliftedandthatsmokers’cornersbesetupinschoolsoruniversities.In wartimetoo,thesoldiersofallarmieshavealwaysbeenliberallysuppliedwithcigarettes
toboosttheirightingmoraleandreadinessforbattle [8]
. Within about 100 years, the cigarette industry rose to become one of the foremost
branchesofindustry [20]
seeTable 1.1
.
Country Before1914
1927 1928
Germany 195
302 499
England 201
811 –
France 96
248 326
Holland –
341 –
Italy 104
372 –
Sweden 115
233 –
USA 143
798
a
840
a
Table 1.1
Cigaretteconsumptioninvariouscountriesduringtheirstthirdofthetwentiethcentury
Per-capitastatisticsfrom [7]
a
IntheUSA97,000millioncigarettesweresmokedin1927and106,000millionin1928
1.5 Objections to Smoking on Health Grounds
Inthenineteenthcentury,smokingwasnotviewedfromthestandpointofenjoyment. Aftertheprohibitiononsmokingwasabolished,therespectablemiddle-classesstartedto
voicetheircriticismonsmokingwhich,eventhen,wereintendedprimarilytoprotect youngpeople.Inoneofhispaintingsfrom18851886Skullwithburningcigarette,see
Fig. 1.3
,theDutchartistVincentvanGoghhimselfapipesmokerforeshadowedthe rolethecigarettewastoplayinthecenturytocome.Eventhen,withsmokingperceived
as a speciic social problem prevalent among 10–12-year-old boys [8]
, there were complaintsabout“wayward”youngsmokers.Parents,teachersandeducatorsweretold
thattheyhad:…“aseriousdutytomakeyoungpeopleawareofthegreatdangersof prematureuseofthenarcotictobacco,anactivitythatdestroystheirphysicalandmental
well-being” [8]
. Inthesecondhalfofthenineteenthcentury,bothintheUSAandinEuropeincluding
GermanyandAustria,anti-tobaccoassociationswereformedbecausenewerinsightsinto thechemicalprocessesofnatureandofhumanlifeitselfhadraisedconcernsaboutthe
health-related consequences of smoking [21]
. Education was required concerning the
Fig. 1.3
VincentvanGogh: Skullwithburningcigarette
18851886
dangersoftobaccouseandmisuse [22]
.Asaresult,smokingperceptionshaveundergone acompletetransformation–the“sophisticated”habitofthe1930sisalethaladdictionin
the new millennium. What was considered an appropriate social behaviour, frequently endorsedbythemedicalprofessioncf.Fig.
1.4 ,hasnowbeenestablishedasanantisocial
behaviour.Nevertheless,thetobaccoindustryunrestrainedlyadvertiseditsproductsinthe medicaljournalscf.Fig.
1.4 andamongyoungpeoplewhowereverysoonfamiliarwith
allthemajorcigarettebrandsFig. 1.5
. In 1821, the physician Posselt and the chemist Reimann described a milky distillate
obtainedfromfreshanddriedtobaccoleaves [24]
andin1828,theyisolatednicotineasthe principalalkaloidoftobacco
[8,25] .Trommsdorffalsostudiedextractsfromtobaccoplants
[26] ,buthisresearchwasnotasfruitfulasthatofPosseltandReimann.Atthattime,this
poisonousalkaloidfuellednumerousdebatesabouttheharmfulnessofsmoking,basedon evidencefromvariousexperimentsonanimalswithnicotinedatingbacktotheseventeenth
century [8]
:ConradGesnerhadobservedthatdogsvomitedwhentheywereadministereda smallquantityofpowdered,driedtobaccoleaves.TheirstBocarmepoisoningtrialbefore
aBelgiancourtin1850attractedgreatinterest,particularlywhenthechemistStasdetected thealkaloidnicotineinthecorpse
[8] .Thiscasepromptednumerousanimalexperiments
withnicotinetopermitfurtherelucidationofitseffects.Theanimalexperimentsdescribed byTiedemann,workinginconjunctionwiththeanatomistBischoffinGießen,werecon-
ductedinfrogs,rabbits,anddogsafterhehadreceivednicotinebasefromDr.Merckof Darmstadt
[8] .Theseexperimentsdescribedthehightoxicityandrapidonsetofpoisoning
followedbythedeathofanimals.InalettertoTheodorZwinger,ConradGesnerdescribed thepatternofpoisoningfollowingexcessivetobaccoconsumptioninthefollowingterms:
“foliiparticulafumumhaurientemsubitoinebriat,utipsenonsemelexpertussum” [8]
. Conceptssuchasacuteandchronicnicotinepoisoningwereintroduced.Symptoms
describedinhumansincludedagitation,stupor,cough,acceleratedbreathing,nausea,and vomitingetc.
[8] .Long-termdamagechronicglossitis,pharyngitis,tonsillitis,andcancer
ofthetonguewasalreadybeingreportedasearlyas150yearsago [8,27]
. By1927,morethan50ofthetobaccousersintheUSAwerealreadysmokingciga-
rettes97,000million,risingto106,000millioninthefollowingyear,Table 1.1
;even thensuchconsumptionwasassociatedwithillnessonafairlylargescale.Statisticsonthe
incidenceoflungcancerwerecollectedinGreatBritainasearlyas1920.Atthattimeit wasstillunclearwhetherathirdgeneticfactorwasinvolvedalongsidesmokingandlung
cancer.Despiteevidencetothecontrary,thetobaccoindustrycontinuedtodisputethisfact intothe1950s
[28] .Thetobaccoindustrydidnotshyawayfromadvertisingitsproducts
evenwhendiseasescausedbycigaretteswerereportedFig. 1.6
.
1.6 Women Won Over by the Cigarette
Inthenineteenthcentury,smokingwastheexclusiveprivilegeofmen.Eventoday,cigarand pipesmokingarestillconsideredtobeapredominantlymaleattribute.Beforethe1920s,ciga-
rettewasnotconsideredtobethedominanttobaccoproduct.Theimageitprojectedwasnot