The use of stimulants and narcotics goes back in history thousands of years. Drugs such as marijuana, opium, alcohol and tobacco date back to 2700 B.C. and earlier. It is not clear where this 1906 image appeared but it is significant that there was a strong anti-smoking sentiment in the late 1800s carrying on to today

The colonization of the Americas in the 16th century led to extensive cultivation and trading of tobacco and its use and the practice of growing it quickly spread to all corners of the globe. Every major civilization had been introduced to tobacco smoking by the mid-1700s and in many cases was quickly assimilated into the native culture. Interestingly, many rulers attempted to stamp out the practice with severe penalties or fines and all to no avail. Because of its trade value, tobacco can be traced to all the major trade routes and ports and then on into the hinterlands. The English language term 'smoking' was coined in the late 17th century; until then it was referred to as "drinking smoke".

In 1905 the word "tobacco" did not re-appear in the US Pharmacopoeia, the official government listing of drugs. In order to get the necessary political support for the Food and Drug Act of 1906, the word tobacco was removed from the Pharmacopoeia. In so doing and of great future concern, it also removed tobacco from the supervision of the Food and Drug Administration.

In 1906 the Federal Food And Drugs Act was passed that prohibited the sale of adulterated foods and drugs, and mandated an honest statement of contents on labels. Nicotine was on the list of supervised drugs, but after tobacco industry lobbying efforts, nicotine was removed from the list.

In the nineteenth century, tobacco was smoked by gentlemen only in the form of cigars. Cigarettes, whose exact origins are not clear, where thought to be created from the sweepings of the floor of the cigar factory, and were only smoked by the very poor. Prior to the introduction of cigarettes, lung cancer was a rare occurrence. Because of the normal 20-30 year interval between starting smoking and the occurrence of cancer, the connection was not made until after the huge increase in smoking that came with World War I.

The 1990s found a considerable increase in the publics support for establishing non-smoking laws for public places and restaurants and bars. The overall public awareness of the effects of secondary smoke has intensified the expansion of the laws to a much wider extent and the issue of tobacco coming under the control of the Food and Drug Administration is a current political issue.

Medium : 1 photographic print

Created/Published : c1906

Creator : Not attributed

Housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress

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Product #: cph3b47854