After finishing this chapter, students should be able to understand:
Tobacco was introduced to Europe and the East after Columbus's voyage to the Americas.
As with most other "new" drugs, Europeans either loved tobacco and prescribed it for all ailments or hated it and considered it responsible for many ills.
The predominant style of tobacco use went from pipes to snuff to chewing to cigars to cigarettes.
The typical modern cigarette is about half as strong in tar and nicotine content as a cigarette of fifty years ago.
Cigarette smoking declined considerably during the 1960s and 1970s, but about 20 percent of young people still become regular smokers.
The use of smokeless tobacco increased during the 1980s, causing concerns about increases in oral cancer.
Although tobacco continues to be an important economic factor in American society, it is also responsible for more annual deaths than all other drugs combined, including alcohol.
Cigarette smoking is clearly linked to increased risk of heart disease, lung and other cancers, emphysema, and stroke.
There is increased concern about the health consequences of passive smoking.
Smoking cessation leads to immediate improvements in mortality statistics, and new products, including nicotine skin patches, are being widely used by those who wish to quit.
