The Social History of Smoking

The Social History of Smoking
The Social History of Smoking is one of those weird history books. If you look obscure facts about our habits and such or if you are merely curious about the ongoing trends involved in smoking itself, this book will make a good read. The book was written by G. L. Apperson and it traces the various social habits formed around smoking. Do keep in mind, this book covers the smoking habits of various folks in England. Nonetheless, it is interesting to note what has made its way to other countries.

The author divides the different habits according to various time periods. So it ends up as a fascinating journey for the reader as you follow the changes from the introduction of the first pipes in England to smoking trends in the early twentieth century. He has put aside one or two chapters for specific themes (namely, gender based smoking habits and location specific trends) but these are rather brief compared to the lengthy details in the others.

Whether or not you are a history buff, you are likely to be intrigued by the facts detailed in this book. For instance, there was mention of how it was the in-thing for smokers to pass pipes to one another in the seventeenth century. Apparently, when smoking became trendy, this particular habit popped up as well. Is it just me or do we now associate pipe passing with a particular type of smoking now?

Equally weird was the habit of carrying a case of pipes. The way this trend was eagerly adopted by many is a strange indication of how folks are always on the watch for the latest status symbols. And we thought modern social smokers and such had it tough.

On the subject of all things weird, I always wondered why the local tobacconist in a lot of British colonies (and a few European countries) often doubled as a seller of other wares. Thus, you'd end up buying the newspaper or birthday cards at the same place that specialized in smoking paraphernalia. It turns out almost everyone sold tobacco and such in various establishments. So perhaps these modern stores are a relic of an older time?

I must admit, I found it a bit funny to find that folks have been protesting against and speaking for smoking ever since it became popular, on both sides of the Atlantic. When you go through the various chapters, it is amusing to see the contempt with which folks viewed smoking. So, years and years of anti-smoking sentiment and no smoker really cares? It would seem that this is a losing battle. However, let me add one scary note to the 'should we/ shouldn't we' debate. It seems that when the plague was a frightening worry in England, folks were advised that smoking can possibly be a cure. That's not the truly horrid bit; apparently they forced kids to smoke as well! Oh yea, that awful image of non smoking kids in some schools being whipped will linger in my mind for a while.

Over all, this book serves more as a starting point for reference purposes as opposed to acting as an detailed analysis of social smoking. For the most part, the author hazards a guess about the origins of various myths or habits. Then again, this has its advantages. Because of this particular style, some of his descriptions are amusing to read, making his writing style more accessible to a wider range of readers.