Smoking: Home

Finalist for the Hagley Prize in Business History A Smithsonian Book of the Year "Vaping gets all the attention now, but Milov's thorough study reminds us that smoking has always intersected with the government, for better or worse."--New York Times Book Review Tobacco is the quintessential American product. From Jamestown to the Marlboro Man, the plant occupied the heart of the nation's economy and expressed its enduring myths. But today smoking rates have declined and smokers are exiled from many public spaces. The story of tobacco's fortunes may seem straightforward: science triumphed over our addictive habits and the cynical machinations of tobacco executives. Yet the reality is more complicated. Both the cigarette's popularity and its eventual decline reflect a parallel course of shifting political priorities. The tobacco industry flourished with the help of the state, but it was the concerted efforts of citizen nonsmokers who organized to fight for their right to clean air that led to its undoing. After the Great Depression, public officials and organized tobacco farmers worked together to ensure that the government's regulatory muscle was more often deployed to promote tobacco than to protect the public from its harms. Even as evidence of the cigarette's connection to cancer grew, medical experts could not convince officials to change their stance. What turned the tide, Sarah Milov argues, was a new kind of politics: a movement for nonsmokers' rights. Activists and public-interest lawyers took to the courts, the streets, city councils, and boardrooms to argue for smoke-free workplaces and allied with scientists to lobby elected officials. The Cigarette restores politics to its rightful place in the tale of tobacco's rise and fall, illustrating America's continuing battles over corporate influence, individual responsibility, collective choice, and the scope of governmental power.

This work provides an evenhanded and authoritative overview of vaping and its impact on American culture and public health, especially among younger Americans. The 21st Century Turning Points series is a one-stop resource for understanding the people and events changing America today. This volume is devoted to the rapid rise of vaping across the nation, especially among young people. This trend has prompted fierce debate in communities across the country, with some people heralding "e-cigarettes" and other vaping devices as valuable smoking cessation tools and others condemning them for being unhealthy in their own right--and a gateway to future cigarette consumption. The Vaping Controversy describes the key events and people that provided the foundation for the rise of e-cigarettes and vaping, from governmental and medical efforts to reduce traditional cigarette smoking to the emergence and rapid spread of an entire industry devoted to selling vaping devices and accessories. This volume also explores how vaping has influenced youth culture and high school life, its impact on "old school" tobacco companies, and the increasingly visible partisan divide in attitudes about the public health impact of vaping. Devotes individual entries to specific events and milestones Profiles important activists and other notable figures Explores the lasting impact of the event on American life in essays Includes a bibliography of sources for further study

The number of young people who practice vaping--the use of e-cigarettes--continues to grow in the United States. Experts are divided about whether vaping is a desirable alternative to smoking cigarettes or is itself a serious health concern. Teens and Vaping takes a critical look at this phenomenon and its impact on public health.

Tobacco use is the world's leading preventable cause of death. This title explores the history of tobacco, its effects on the body, government policies toward it, and ways that users can quit. Features include a glossary, references, websites, source notes, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.