What is the history of tobacco?

The tobacco plant grows in North and Central America. The Indians already used tobacco. The oldest depiction of its use dates from 300 AD. Tobacco may have been discovered when Indians used tobacco leaves to light fires. The smoke was pleasant and had a strong smell. Indians dried the leaves, made a roll of it and lit it. It was also chewed or smoked as a pipe. Such a pipe was called Tabacco. Tobacco was used by the Indians as a stimulant, as a way to get in touch with the gods and as a medicine.

Columbus
Columbus discovered the Indians with America. They offered him the tobacco leaves. However, he was more interested in gold. Columbus brought the tobacco to Spain. People were against the use of smoking tobacco. The church said that the plant came from heathens and therefore from the devil. Initially it was thought that the tobacco leaves could help against ailments. The Frenchman Jean Nicot, who was France’s envoy to Lisbon at the time, sent the medicinal plant to Queen Catherine Medici in 1560 to help her get rid of her headaches. All she had to do was hold the leaf against her forehead. The tobacco plant (Nicotiana Tabacum) is named after Jean Nicot. cuvie

Tobacco becomes popular
After the Spaniards, the English also came into contact with tobacco in North America. After that, the use of tobacco gradually became popular in Northern Europe. It was chewed, sniffed or smoked as a pipe. The first pipes were made of white clay. Later on also pipes in porcelain and wood were introduced. In the beginning pipe smoking was mainly for the rich. In the course of the 17th century it became known in the rest of the world. In 1614 in London alone there were 7000 tobacco shops. King James 1 of England wanted to prevent the use of tobacco. He denied the medicinal effects, arguing that smoking was a barbaric habit which would undermine the fortitude of English men. His son Charles I was less negative and levied tobacco tax, thus becoming the inventor of the national tobacco tax. In paintings from the Golden Age, you can see that smoking was also commonplace in the Netherlands at that time.

Cigars
In 1800 the cigar made its appearance in Europe. Smoking became very popular. In the beginning the cigar was mainly made by home workers. Gradually cigar factories were established.

Nicotine discovery
In 1828 chemists discovered the substance in plants that causes the effects of tobacco. The substance was named Nicotine after the Frenchman Jean Nicot. In 1881 the cigarette machine was invented. This made smoking even more popular.

The beginning of the end
At the end of the 1950s, 60% of the Dutch population smoked. For men it was almost 90% and for women 30%. At the end of the 1950s, information about the harmful effects of smoking slowly began to get through. In the 60s/70s, Doctor Meinsma started to warn against smoking. Initially, he received little support. Not even from doctors. This changed in 1971. Four scientific associations of medical specialists sent a memorandum on the harmful effects of smoking to the then State Secretary of Health, Roelof Kruisinga. The latter appointed a committee of the Health Council to advise on restrictive measures. This was the beginning of the anti-smoking policy.

In the years that followed, tobacco use declined sharply. In 1990, 1/3 of the population still smoked. In 2006, 28% of the Dutch population smoked, 31% men and 26% women.

Watch the following video to see how differently people used to deal with smoking.