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Jan 1, 1400
Tobacco Found!
In this time it was said to belive that the Native Americans were the first to grow and use tobacco. -
Jan 1, 1492
Columbus Brings Tobacco!
Christopher Columbus brought a few tobacco leaves and seeds with him back to Europe -
Jan 1, 1556
France gets Tobacco!
Europeans didn't get their first taste of tobacco until the mid-16th century, when adventurers and diplomats like France's Jean Nicot for whom nicotine is named began to popularize its use, and Tobacco was introduced to France. -
Period: Jan 1, 1558 to Dec 31, 1565
Tobacco all over the place!
Tobacco was introduced to Portugal in 1558, and Spain in 1559, and England in 1565. -
Bright Tobacco?
Cigarettes, which had been around in the earlier times, didn't become widely popular in the United States until after the Civil War, with the spread of "Bright" tobacco, a uniquely cured yellow leaf grown in Virginia and North Carolina -
Tobacco! :O
The first successful commercial crop was cultivated in Virginia in by Englishman John Rolfe. Within seven years, it was the colony's largest export. -
Cigars?!
Tobacco was already popular but what made an impact was the making of cigars. -
Machine! Whatttt?
Cigarette sales surged again with the introduction of the "White Burley" tobacco leaf and the invention of the first practical cigarette-making machine, sponsored by tobacco baron James Buchanan Duke. -
Tobacco = Death!?
Researchers in Cologne, Germany, made a statistical correlation between cancer and smoking, eight years later, Dr. Raymond Pearl of Johns Hopkins University reported that smokers do not live as long as non-smokers. -
Can Cancer Kill You?
the American Cancer Society began to warn about possible ill effects of smoking, although it admitted that "no definite evidence exists" linking smoking and lung cancer. A statistical correlation between smoking and cancer had been demonstrated; but no causal relationship had been shown. -
Tobacco Fail!
Reader's Digest published "Cancer by the Carton," an article detailing the dangers of smoking. The effect of the article was enormous similar reports began appearing in other periodicals, and the smoking public began to take notice. The following year, cigarette sales declined for the first time in over two decades. -
Tobacco to the Rescue!
the major U.S. tobacco companies had formed the Tobacco Industry Research Council to counter the growing health concerns, tobacco companies began mass-marketing filtered cigarettes and promised a "healthier" smoke, sales were booming again. -
Congress gets Involved
Congress passed the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act requiring the surgeon general's warnings on all cigarette packages. -
Advertising??
Tobacco Broadcast advertising was banned. -
Banned!
Smoking was banned on all interstate buses and all domestic airline flights lasting six hours or less. -
LawSuits!
Mississippi filed the first of 22 state lawsuits seeking to recoup millions of dollars from tobacco companies for smokers' Medicaid bills. -
President gets involved!
President Clinton announced FDA plans to regulate tobacco, especially sales and advertising aimed at minors.