Tobacco's Scandalous Past Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tobaccos Scandalous Past - Essay ExampleIn 1901, Edward VII, the tobacco-hating queens son and successor, gathers friends in concert in a large drawing room at Buckingham Palace...and announces, Gentlemen, you may smoke (Borio). Smoking jackets became popular and advertisements glorified the attractiveness of smoking. This was the age when it was fashionable to make whoopie a glass of port wine with an elegant after dinner cigar (History of Smoking). This sensation swept Great Britain and began the conflict between levelheaded health and fashion for the tobacco industry.Soldiers during World War I were treated to cigarettes in their rations and as they brought the habit home, it gained even greater popularity. According to Borio, one-third of the reverting soldiers were addicted to cigarettes. By 1935 the reported cases of lung cancer among cigarette smokers were skyrocketing and in 1938 the first medical report on the ill health effects of tobacco was released by John Hopkins Univ ersity (Borio, George Seldes on Tobacco). By 1948, lung cancer was growing at 5 times the rate of any other cancer and had become the virtually common form of disease (Borio). Many of the victims of smoking were veterans who had gained the habit during World War I.The last half of the 20th century witnessed a string of monolithic events concerning tobacco.