Smoking - James Buchanan Duke: Father of the modern cigarette

[Loki]

James Buchanan Duke: Father of the modern cigarette

It looks harmless enough - white, 8cm (3in) long and about the width of a child's finger - but the cigarette is vilified like no other product. Who invented it and how much responsibility does he bear for the countless deaths it has caused?



US surgeon Alton Ochsner recalled that when he was a medical student in 1919 his class was summoned to observe an autopsy of a lung cancer victim. At that time, the disease was so rare it was thought unlikely the students would ever get another chance.

But by the year 2000, it was estimated that 1.1 million people were dying annually from the disease, with about 85% of those cases stemming from a single cause - tobacco.

"The cigarette is the deadliest artefact in the history of human civilisation," says Robert Proctor of Stanford University. "It killed about 100 million people in the 20th Century."

Jordan Goodman, the author of Tobacco in History, says that as a historian he is careful about pointing the finger at individuals, "but in the history of tobacco I feel much more confident saying that James Buchanan Duke - otherwise known as Buck Duke - was responsible for the 20th Century phenomenon known as the cigarette."

Not only did Duke help create the modern cigarette, he also pioneered the marketing and distribution systems that have led to its success on every continent.

In 1880, at the age of 24, Duke entered what was then a niche within the tobacco business - ready-rolled cigarettes. A small team in Durham, North Carolina, hand-rolled the Duke of Durham cigarettes, twisting the ends to seal them.

Two years later Duke saw an opportunity. He began working with a young mechanic called James Bonsack, who said he could mechanise cigarette manufacturing. Duke was convinced that people would want to smoke these neatly-rolled, perfectly symmetrical machine-made cigarettes.

Bonsack's machine revolutionised the cigarette industry.

[east]

I am ex-smoker and I feel happy and lucky that I managed to stop smoking.

[The Lawspeaker]

Hmm in those lung cancer was extremely rare.. while everybody smoked. I wonder why ?
Ah yes: it's because of all the additives that get added to the tobacco these days.

[EagleAtHeart]

I think one opinion is that it's all the chemicals in cigarettes that become radioactive once ingested into the body. It's like taking a dose of radiation with each puff that's carcinogenic.

However, I read a study on pubmed where scientists were unable to induce lung cancer in murine models from cigarette smoke no matter how hard they tried.

Surprisingly, i don't think it's even been proven scientifically that cigarettes cause cancer, there's just anecdotals and hypothesis's (such as the radiation cause). But correlation /= causality.

[AkisGreece]

I think one opinion is that it's all the chemicals in cigarettes that become radioactive once ingested into the body. It's like taking a dose of radiation with each puff that's carcinogenic.

However, I read a study on pubmed where scientists were unable to induce lung cancer in murine models from cigarette smoke no matter how hard they tried.

Surprisingly, i don't think it's even been proven scientifically that cigarettes cause cancer, there's just anecdotals and hypothesis's (such as the radiation cause). But correlation /= causality.

You must be joking....no doubt

[Anusiya]

Hmm in those lung cancer was extremely rare.. while everybody smoked. I wonder why ?
Ah yes: it's because of all the additives that get added to the tobacco these days.

That's why merolls!

[Chatwin]

Hi Loki,
Great post and like to add smoking is injuries to health so we must quit smoking. Smoking effects our llungs and throat and lead to certain types of cancer. Smoking is bad for heart as it may cause stroke and other cardiovascular disease. Smoking has harsh effects on our skin and can effect our liver also.

[EagleAtHeart]

You must be joking....no doubt

Care to post any peer-reviewed studies from a reputable journal to disprove me?

[EagleAtHeart]

If you smoke, which I do sometimes, take the filter off the cigarette. You will get a higher dose of nicotine and not require constant re-dosing.

Also, snus is a great alternative to get a rush. Nicotine, unlike cigarette smoke, is actually very therapeutic.

I usually smoke a cigarette every other day (filter-less or a colt cigar) and use lots of snus for my nicotine requirements.