Abstract: Smoking related diseases are the number one cause of death in the United States, killing more people than HIV, alcohol, illicit drugs, suicide and homicide combined each year. From the beginning of the tobacco production industry there have been voices speaking out against smoking, and the numbers have strengthened with the passage of years. Yet even with the multitude of information proving the destruction effect of cigarettes, it has been a difficult journey to sway the public opinion from the glamorous image of the addicting habit to the ugly truth of it, without having the public cry out about the paternalistic nature of the government. This essay will present a social history of cigarette use among women and African Americans: how each demographic was influenced by promotional propaganda and statistical information about smoking and disease among these groups.
Annotated Bibliography:
Brandt, Allan M. The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America. New York: Basic Books, 2007.
Presents a chronology of the influence of cigarettes in the United States. Covers a range of social stratification, including culture, science, politics, law and globalization. Discusses in depth the allure of the cigarette across different age ranges and social classes, and its subsequent condemnation. Also includes a history of the efforts made to restrict the consumption of cigarettes in the United States.
Burns, Eric. The Smoke of the Gods: A Social History of Tobacco. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2007.
Focuses even more of the social aspect of the influence of cigarettes through history. Begins with the introduction of tobacco to the Americas, and follows the importance of the product in the shaping of the country. Continues on with the social implications that smoking acquired in modern times.
Institute of Medicine, Committee on Reducing Tobacco Use: Strategies, Barriers and Consequences, Richard J. Bonnie, and Kathleen R. Stratton. “Containing the Tobacco Problem.” In Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for a Nation. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2007. 107-138.
Documents the efforts taken by the health department to contain tobacco use. Begins with a brief history of public health efforts in the early 20th century before delving more deeply in the events that occurred from 1964 to 2005: the attempts to control tobacco production and the campaign against second-hand smoking, for example. Also includes the response of tobacco companies, speculates as to the future of tobacco control and the consequences and risks of letting such programs fail.
Taylor, Peter. The Smoke Ring: Tobacco, Money and Multinational Politics. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984.
Gives insight as to how and why cigarette-related illness continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States and the world. Gathers information from inside the “Smoke Ring,” companies and individuals who profit from the sale of tobacco despite the conflicts caused by it. Chronicles the rise and decline of the influence of tobacco, with the efforts of the companies to try and salvage it.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Ending the Tobacco Epidemic: A Tobacco Control Strategic Action Plan for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, November 2010.
Documents preventative efforts taken to control the widespread malignant effects of tobacco products and sets plans for future endeavors. Details the challenges that the program faces, including the burden of prevalent tobacco use by different factions of society across economic and ethnic groups and the barriers to progress. Lists the tobacco control measures that have been effective, current programs and strategic actions for the future.
