Tobacco – Why Is This Killer Habit Still A Thing

Although tobacco usage isn’t nearly as common as it was when I was a kid, it’s hard to believe that it still exists at all. Even though most Western countries have banned smoking in public places, the habit persists.

Reasons for Continued Tobacco Usage

Perhaps the most common reason for continued tobacco use, as Mick Jagger sang, “Old Habits Die Hard”, and this is especially true if the habit involves a strong chemical addiction, as tobacco does. Any addiction is hard to quit due to the psychological and physical effects on the body. Some people are lucky enough to quit smoking cold turkey, but if you are a frequent hard-core user, that would be all but impossible.

Due to the volume of usage of cigarettes, big tobacco companies have virtually unlimited advertising dollars to maintain existing customers as well as to try to entice a new generation of smokers. In recent decades, big tobacco companies have seen a decline in both areas. The younger generations aren’t falling for the smoking-is-cool hype to the extent that previous generations did.

When I was young, there was already a significant amount of scientific evidence that tobacco and smoking were harmful and even deadly. However, governments took a long time to get involved in any restrictions. My father smoked, and all my friends’ fathers smoked. Almost all the adults around me smoked, at least the men. There was a lot of tax money going to governments from cigarette sales. Governments were reluctant to go against big tobacco and lose out on all that tax revenue. Luckily, that changed.

What Is Tobacco

Tobacco is the common name for plants in the genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae. There are more than 70 species of tobacco known today, but the most commonly grown species is N. tabacum. Okay, enough with the scientific terminology.

What we commonly refer to as tobacco used commercially throughout the world is made from the dried and cured leaves of these plants.

A Brief History of Tobacco

According to archeological findings, tobacco has been known in the Americas for over 12,000 years. Its origin and initial use were confined to the Americas until European explorers introduced it to the rest of the world.

When Spanish explorers arrived, they found that the Aboriginals used tobacco for various purposes. It was used as a pain killer to ease earaches and toothaches. Therefore, it had value as a currency for trading. Perhaps most importantly, they used it in pipe-smoking ceremonies such as sealing trading or treaty agreements and spiritual ceremonies.

The Spanish explorers introduced tobacco to Europe in 1528. From there, it subsequently travelled to the rest of the civilized world. The Portuguese took it to Japan in 1542. It arrived in the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th century but only in the 18th century in Australia.

How Tobacco Is Used

The most common way to use tobacco is to smoke it. Cigarettes are by far the most popular tobacco product used worldwide, but cigars and pipes are somewhat common. Other products that don’t involve smoking are snuff and snus.

Cigarettes

Cigarettes are a multibillion-dollar a year industry. The five largest tobacco companies globally are Philip Morris International, Altria, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, and Japan Tobacco International. China Tobacco produces over three times as many cigarettes as the top global producer, Philip Morris International. However, Chinese tobacco products are almost exclusively for domestic consumption.

Cigars

Cigars are more complicated and expensive to produce. They generally consist of three components: the filler, the binder leaf, and the rapper leaf. The filler is the tobacco that gives the cigar its flavour, the binder leaf holds the filler together, and the rapper leaf is the outermost leaf that gives the cigar its appearance. Cigars are generally rolled by hand and made for quality rather than quantity, unlike cigarettes. The smoking of cigars in the past portrayed some social standing with men’s clubs where the wealthy would go to enjoy the experience of smoking cigars and snifting brandy.

Pipes

The smoking of pipes creates an image of sophistication, a writer sitting in an armchair in his library, dressed in a dinner jacket, casually reading and smoking his favourite pipe. You can almost smell the fragrance of the pipe tobacco wafting through the air. This illusion is thanks to American movies from the 40s and 50s. I can picture David Niven right now. I know David Niven was a British actor, but he appeared in Many Hollywood movies of this type.

Snuff and Snus

Snuff and snus are similar only in the fact that they are both tobacco products and that the user does not smoke them.

Snuff is finely ground tobacco. People sniff or snort it in much the same way that one would use cocaine.

Snus or chewing tobacco is the most disgusting use of a tobacco product. Made from moist, finely ground tobacco with added flavour, the user places a pinch between his upper lip and gums. Much like chewing gum, it’s kept in the mouth until the flavour fades. The user then spits it out. While watching a baseball game, you may have seen the pitcher spitting or even putting the snus in his mouth. The pitcher can’t smoke when he’s on the mound, so snus is the best way to get his tobacco fix.

My mother used to tell a funny but disgusting story about about snus. She said her paternal grandfather lived with her family when she was young. My grandmother had a lot of work to do to keep up with the eight siblings, my grandfather, and his father. Anyway, the Old Walter Caleb used to chew snus, and when the flavour was gone, he would spit it into his spittoon, a can, especially for that purpose. As you can imagine, the spittoon was filled with snus sludge and stunk. My mother said every time my grandmother washed the floor, Old Walter Caleb would trip over the spittoon and spill it all over the newly cleaned floor. They thought he did it on purpose because he was an ornery old cuss.

Health Problems Associated With Tobacco Products

This section will be pretty short as everyone knows, or should know, the risks of using tobacco products. Without a doubt, your overall health will suffer right up to and including an early death. Although smoking has the greatest risk of cancer, there is no safe or better way to use tobacco. The absolute only way to avoid the adverse effects of tobacco is to avoid tobacco altogether!

Traditional Advertising

Although the advertising of tobacco products is illegal in most Western countries, it was still legal in Canada until 1988. Until then, the ads were creative, focused, and often targeted to specific audiences. They were manipulative and associated smoking with themes that prospective smokers aspired to.

The most common association was happiness. The Ray Conniff Singers recorded “Happiness Is” in 1966, suggesting “Happiness Is different things to different people”. During the late 60s, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company used this song to advertise Kent cigarettes with the line “To a smoker, it’s the taste of Kent.” (Kent cigarettes commercial video)

From 1954 to 1999, the Marlboro Man was the iconic figure representing Marlboro cigarettes. In the early 1950s, filters on cigarettes were promoted as being safer, which, of course, they were not. However, smokers considered filters to be for women. This idea was especially true for the Philip Morris & Co. brand Marlboro cigarettes. So, they created Marlboro Man, the rugged, manly man cowboy to appeal to men. Ironically, five men who appeared in Marlboro-related advertisements died of smoking-related diseases, and Marlboro Reds cigarettes gained the nickname “cowboy killers”. But, no matter, by 1972, Marlboro was at the top of the tobacco industry.

In 1968, Philip Morris & Co. brought out a cigarette for women only called Virginia Slims. The advertisements were based on the following theme song, which is hilarious today. It compares women’s cigarettes with women’s rights, such as the right to vote. (Virginia Slims cigarettes commercial video)

You've come a long way, baby
To get where you got to today.
You've got your own cigarettes now, baby.
You've come a long, long way.

Canada’s Strict Laws on Tobacco Products

For quite some time, Canadian regulations around cigarette sales have required written warnings and graphic pictures of the results of tobacco usage to be on every cigarette packaging. These regulations have been updated to give Canada the best overall tobacco health warning system in the world. As of July 31, 2024, warnings must appear on the filter of individual king-size cigarettes, and the regulation will apply to all cigarettes as of April 30, 2025.

Editorial Comment: These regulations are okay, but are they really a step forward? I don’t know many people who smoke. However, I do know that none of them are going to read the filter of their cigarette before they commence destroying their body by lighting up. Is having a warning on individual cigarettes really going to change anything? I think not! With all the available scientific proof that smoking has dire consequences, people still smoke. This change will deter no one.

Ten Interesting Facts About Smoking

1. Smoking or chewing tobacco can kill.
2. On average, the life expectancy of a smoker is 10 years less than a nonsmoker.
3. Smoking is the most significant cause of death and disease that you can control.
4. Smoking does not help to lose weight.
5. Smoking causes the voice to deepen and sound rougher.
6. One cigarette contains 69 chemicals known to cause cancer.
7. Most smokers regret ever having started to smoke.
8. Serbia has the most female smokers.
9. China has the highest tobacco consumption in the world.
10. About 1,690,000,000 pounds of cigarette butts are disposed of each year.

Closing Comments

I find it interesting that it’s only about 10 to 20 years ago I was forced to deal Pai Gow Poker in the casino with six older Chinese women blowing cigarette smoke in my face because they were losing. Now, you can’t smoke within 10 meters of an entrance.

It’s humorous to me that when watching Netflix, movies or series have warnings about course language, nudity, and smoking. I’ve never understood the reason for any of these warnings, but smoking? Do they think there’s a chance that a nonsmoker might just pick up the filthy habit by seeing someone smoke on television?

Anyway, I guess it’s true. We’ve come a long way, baby.

The above essay is for entertainment and English language study only. For suggestions on how to use this post to improve your English reading and listening comprehension, click here.

Vocabulary

• cold turkey – adverb; cease (esp. an addictive habit)completely and abruptly; to quit smoking immediately (in this context)
• currency – noun; any commodity used as a medium of exchange; usually money, but anything that can be used to trade for something of value
• sealing – transitive verb (seal); certify as correct, authentic, or approved; to finalize
• spiritual – adjective; of or relating to the human spirit or soul; at one with nature (in this context)
• subsequently – adverb; following a specific event etc. in time, esp. as a consequence; what happens next as a result
• snuff – noun; powdered tobacco taken by sniffing it up the nostrils; sniffed powdered tobacco, not smoked
• snus – noun; chewing tobacco; also known as snoose
• exclusively – adverb; not including; except for; only
• component – noun; a part of a larger whole or system; a part of something
• binder – noun; a substance that acts cohesively; something that holds something else together
• portrayed – transitive verb (portray); represent esp. dramatically; create an image
• snifting – verb (snift); technically not a real word; used as drinking brandy from a brandy snifter (in this context)
• sophistication – noun; deprive (a person) of natural simplicity or innocence, esp. through education or experience; education and experience in a person
• wafting – intransitive verb (waft); carry or send gently through or as if through the air; lingering in the air
• aspired – intransitive verb; have ambition or strong desire; to want something
• dire – adjective; calamitous, dreadful; severe and significant

Comprehension Questions

1. Do you use tobacco?
2. What is tobacco made from?
   (a) dried insects, (b) dried leaves, (c) chocolate, or (d) coffee
3. Where was tobacco first discovered?
   (a) China, (b) Japan, (c) the Americas, or (d) Europe
4. Which tobacco product is generally rolled by hand for quality?
   (a) cigars, (b) cigarettes, (c) snuff, or (d) snus
5. Does smoking cause health problems?
   Yes or No
6. Is there a safe way to use tobacco?
   Yes or No

Answers

• Wikipedia
• Mayo Clinic Minute

And Now For Your Listening Enjoyment

Here is a novelty song by Phil Harris that talks about the importance of smoking in the life of a die-hard smoker. Noting is more important than the next cigarette. Let’s listen to “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)”.

Lyrics

"Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)"
Recorded by Phil Harris (1947)
Written by Merle Travis and Tex Williams

Now I'm a fella with a heart of gold,
The ways of a gentleman,
I've been told.
The kind of a guy that wouldn't even harm a flea
But if me and a certain character met
That guy that invented that cigarette
I'd murder that son of a gun in the first degree.
Well not because I don't smoke myself
I don't reckon they'll harm your health
I've smoked all my life and I'm not dead yet.
But nicotine slaves are all the same,
At a pettin' party or a poker game,
Everything's must stop while they smoke a cigarette.

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! that cigarette.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
And if you smoke yourself to death,
Tell Saint Peter at the golden gate
That you hate to make him wait,
But you got to have another cigarette.

Now in a game of chance the other night,
Old Dame Fortune was doing me right.
The kings and queens just kept on comin' round
I played 'em hard and I bet 'em high
But my bluff didn't work on a certain guy
He kept on raisin' and layin' that money down
Yeah he'd raise me, and I'd raise him.
I sweated blood, gotta sink or swim;
He finally called, but he didn't raise the bet.
I said aces full, pal,
How 'bout you?
He said well I-I'm gonna tell you in a minute or two
But right now I got to have a cigarette.

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! that cigarette.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
And if you smoke yourself to death,
Tell Saint Peter at the golden gate,
That you hates to make him wait,
But you gotta have another cigarette.

Now the other night I had a date
With the cutest little gal in the 48 states,
A high bred up-town fancy little dame.
She said she loved me,
And it seemed to me
That things were about like they oughtta be.
So Hand in hand we strolled down lover's lane.
She was oh so far from a cake of ice,
Our smoochin' party was going nice,
So help me Hannah I think I'd've been there yet
But I'd give her a kiss and a little squeeze
And she said, "Phil, would you excuse me please,
But I got to have a cigarette."

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! that cigarette
Puff! Puff! Puff!
And if you puff yourself to death,
Tell Saint Peter at the golden gate,
That you hate to make him wait,
But you got to have another cigarette.

[Pouring sounds.]
Man, that's coffee.