How War Made the Cigarette

Summary

This video explores how the cigarette transformed from a symbol of vice to a patriotic emblem, largely due to its widespread use by soldiers during WWI and WWII. Militaries distributed cigarettes to boost morale, inadvertently creating a new generation of smokers. Post-war, tobacco companies capitalized on this by marketing cigarettes as symbols of freedom and masculinity, leading to a dramatic increase in consumption. The video also touches on the cigarette's role in post-war Europe, influenced by the Marshall Plan and the stigmatization of anti-smoking campaigns in Germany.

Takeaways

• 🚬 The cigarette's image transformed from a vice of the underclass to a symbol of patriotism during the First World War.
• 🔥 World War I saw a significant increase in cigarette consumption among soldiers, with militaries using them to boost morale and manage stress.
• 🌟 The U.S. Army, in particular, recognized the importance of cigarettes, with General John Pershing equating tobacco with bullets in necessity.
• 🎯 Post-war, cigarette companies capitalized on the association between smoking and patriotism to market their products to returning soldiers and the public.
• 📈 The interwar period saw a dramatic rise in cigarette consumption, with per capita rates increasing over 1,000 percent between 1900 and 1920.
• 🔗 The cigarette's popularity was further solidified during World War II, with the industry experiencing a boom in production and consumption.
• 💡 Cigarette advertising strategies during the wars included linking the product to wartime patriotism, sacrifice, and support for soldiers.
• 🌍 The Marshall Plan inadvertently contributed to the spread of cigarette smoking in Europe by distributing American tobacco products.
• 🚭 Despite the Nazi Party's anti-smoking stance, cigarettes were still considered important for German soldiers' morale during World War II.
• ♻️ The cigarette industry's growth was not solely due to the wars, but these conflicts significantly accelerated its acceptance and spread globally.

Q & A

How did the perception of cigarettes change during the First World War?

During the First World War, cigarettes transitioned from being seen as a vice of the underclass and a threat to health to becoming associated with patriotism and support for soldiers. The military included cigarettes in soldiers' rations to boost morale, which contributed to their popularity and acceptance.

What role did the military play in popularizing cigarettes?

The military played a significant role in popularizing cigarettes by including them in soldiers' rations during both World War I and II. This practice was intended to improve soldiers' morale and calm their nerves amidst the horrors of war, effectively addicting them and spreading the habit upon their return to civilian life.

How did advertising strategies contribute to the rise in cigarette consumption after World War I?

After World War I, advertising strategies played a crucial role in increasing cigarette consumption by associating smoking with patriotism, freedom, and modernity. Advertisements depicted soldiers smoking, making it a symbol of patriotism, and this connection was further reinforced by the inclusion of collectible cigarette cards in packs.

What was the impact of World War II on the cigarette industry?

World War II had a substantial impact on the cigarette industry, with per capita consumption in the U.S. nearly doubling from 1939 to 1945. The war effort saw a significant increase in cigarette production and consumption, as well as aggressive marketing campaigns that linked smoking with patriotism and support for the troops.

How did cigarette companies target women during World War II?

Cigarette companies targeted women during World War II by encouraging them to buy cigarettes as gifts for their husbands or boyfriends in the military. Advertisements in publications like 'Vogue' depicted women in war-related roles endorsing specific cigarette brands, positioning smoking as a patriotic act and a symbol of support for the war effort.

What was the significance of the Marshall Plan in the spread of cigarette consumption in Europe?

The Marshall Plan played a significant role in the spread of cigarette consumption in Europe by including tobacco products as part of the relief aid. Approximately 4.4% of all products shipped to Europe under the plan were tobacco-based, which not only supported the U.S. tobacco industry but also reinforced the postwar culture of smoking.

How did the Nazi Party's stance on smoking influence postwar attitudes towards cigarettes in Germany?

The Nazi Party's opposition to smoking and their public health campaigns against it led to an interesting postwar dynamic. After the war, anti-smoking efforts in Germany were often conflated with the authoritarianism of the Nazi era. This association may have contributed to an increase in cigarette consumption as health efforts against tobacco were stigmatized.

What were the health concerns associated with cigarettes before their popularity increased?

Before the popularity of cigarettes increased, health concerns included the belief that they were unhealthy and could enfeeble a generation of young Americans. Early health reformers and temperance activists likened the cigarette to alcohol, associating it with destructive side effects and societal ills.

How did the cigarette's image change from a symbol of immorality to a symbol of masculinity and patriotism?

The cigarette's image changed from a symbol of immorality to one of masculinity and patriotism primarily through its association with soldiers during the world wars. As soldiers were seen as heroes and patriots, the act of smoking became linked with bravery and sacrifice, transforming the cigarette into a symbol of American masculinity and patriotism.

What was the role of the YMCA in changing public perception of cigarettes during World War I?

The YMCA, which was initially against smoking, changed its stance during World War I. It began handing out cigarettes to soldiers on the front lines and in military canteens, viewing smoking as a lesser evil compared to alcoholism, prostitution, and harder drugs. This shift helped to change public perception, associating cigarettes more with support for soldiers than with immorality.

Outlines

00:00

🚬 The Transformation of Cigarettes from Vice to Patriotism

This paragraph discusses the significant shift in the perception of cigarettes during and after World War I. Initially viewed as a vice associated with the underclass, criminals, and foreigners, the cigarette's image changed dramatically as it became associated with patriotism and soldiers. The war played a pivotal role in this transformation, with militaries inadvertently acting as large-scale distributors of cigarettes, leading to a surge in popularity and acceptance. Post-war, advertisers capitalized on this new image, and the United States promoted cigarettes globally, marking the beginning of the cigarette's rise to worldwide dominance.

05:00

🌍 Global Impact of World War I on Cigarette Consumption

The paragraph highlights the substantial increase in cigarette consumption during World War I across various countries. It details how the inclusion of cigarettes in soldiers' rations to boost morale led to a surge in popularity. The narrative emphasizes the psychological and physiological benefits of nicotine in the context of war, and how this contributed to the normalization and acceptance of cigarette smoking. The transformation of the cigarette from a symbol of vice to a symbol of masculinity and patriotism is also discussed, with the Young Men's Christian Association's shift in stance towards cigarettes being a notable example.

10:01

🎖️ Post-War Marketing and the Continued Rise of Cigarette Popularity

This section delves into how the end of World War I led to a strategic marketing push by the cigarette industry to capitalize on the returning soldiers' new smoking habits. It outlines the efforts of companies like Chesterfield to associate their brand with patriotism and the military, effectively rebranding cigarettes as a symbol of freedom and modernity. The paragraph also discusses the broader societal changes, including the shift in gender norms and the rise of cigarette consumption among women, as the industry targeted new demographics and continued to expand its market.

15:02

🔥 World War II and the Cigarette Industry's Meteoric Growth

The paragraph explores the impact of World War II on the cigarette industry, noting a significant increase in both military and civilian consumption. It discusses the role of the cigarette as a morale booster during the war and the aggressive marketing strategies employed by companies to link their products with patriotism. The paragraph also touches on the global effects of the war, including the Marshall Plan's role in spreading American tobacco products to Europe and the subsequent influence on European smoking culture. It concludes with a reflection on the lasting impact of these events on the cigarette's popularity and the industry's growth.

20:02

🌬️ The Lasting Legacy of Cigarettes in Post-War Society

This final paragraph examines the enduring legacy of cigarette smoking in the post-war era. It discusses how the cigarette's association with solidarity and conformity during the wars became ingrained in peacetime social culture. The paragraph also addresses the unintended consequences of World War II in Europe, such as the reinforcement of smoking habits through U.S. initiatives like the Marshall Plan and the stigmatization of anti-smoking efforts in Germany due to the Nazi's anti-cigarette stance. It concludes by reflecting on the cigarette's continued global presence and the health risks it poses, despite its waning popularity in some regions.

Keywords

💡Cigarette

A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a thin sheet of paper for smoking. In the context of the video, cigarettes transitioned from being viewed as a vice associated with the underclass and immorality to a symbol of patriotism and masculinity, especially after their widespread use by soldiers during World War I and II.

💡World War I

World War I, also known as the First World War, was a global war that lasted from 1914 to 1918. The video highlights how the war played a pivotal role in normalizing cigarette smoking, as soldiers were provided with cigarettes to boost morale, leading to a significant increase in consumption and a shift in societal perception post-war.

💡Patriotism

Patriotism refers to the love and support for one's country. In the video, the concept of patriotism is closely tied to the cigarette's rise in popularity. After World War I, the act of smoking cigarettes became associated with supporting the war effort and showing solidarity with soldiers, thus transforming it into a patriotic act.

💡Addiction

Addiction is a compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite adverse consequences. The video discusses how the widespread distribution of cigarettes to soldiers during the wars led to nicotine addiction among them, which in turn influenced their post-war habits and contributed to the normalization of smoking in society.

💡Marketing

Marketing is the action or business of promoting and selling products or services. The video emphasizes how post-war marketing campaigns by cigarette companies capitalized on the new association of smoking with patriotism and masculinity, using advertisements to further embed cigarettes into everyday life and culture.

💡Health Reformers

Health reformers are individuals or groups advocating for improvements in public health. In the video, early health reformers criticized cigarettes for their negative health impacts. However, their concerns were overshadowed by the wartime need to support soldiers' morale, leading to a shift in public health messaging regarding cigarettes.

💡Temperance Activists

Temperance activists are individuals who advocate for moderation or abstinence from alcohol. The video notes that these activists initially opposed cigarette smoking, comparing it to the destructive effects of alcohol. However, during the wars, their stance shifted, seeing cigarettes as a lesser evil compared to more severe vices like alcoholism and gambling.

💡YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) is a worldwide organization that aims to develop Christian principles in youth. The video mentions that the YMCA, once an opponent of smoking, began distributing cigarettes to soldiers during World War I, reflecting the changing societal attitudes towards smoking as a means to support soldiers.

💡Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan was an American initiative in the aftermath of World War II to aid in the economic recovery of Western Europe. The video discusses how the plan inadvertently promoted cigarette smoking by including tobacco products in relief shipments, further entrenching the habit in European societies.

💡Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany refers to the period of totalitarian rule under Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party from 1933 to 1945. The video notes that the Nazi regime's anti-smoking stance led to a postwar association of anti-tobacco efforts with fascism, which may have contributed to increased cigarette consumption in Germany as a rejection of Nazi-era values.

💡Globalization

Globalization is the process of increasing global connectivity and interdependence. The video suggests that the two World Wars and subsequent events like the Marshall Plan contributed to a more interconnected world, which facilitated the spread of cigarette smoking and its associated health risks across borders.

Highlights

Cigarettes were once considered a vice of the underclass and a threat to public health and morals.

The First World War marked a turning point, with cigarettes becoming popular and associated with patriotism.

World War I saw a significant increase in cigarette consumption among soldiers, who found solace in smoking.

Nicotine in cigarettes was recognized for its calming effects on soldiers' nerves during wartime.

Military rations included cigarettes to boost morale, effectively addicting soldiers to tobacco.

Post-war, soldiers returned home with smoking habits, which began to normalize cigarette use in society.

Cigarette companies capitalized on the post-war market, targeting returning soldiers and the general public with advertisements.

The cigarette became a symbol of American masculinity, displacing the pipe as the preferred method of tobacco consumption.

World War II further increased cigarette consumption, with the industry producing record numbers to meet demand.

Cigarette advertising during World War II was heavily associated with patriotism and support for the war effort.

The Marshall Plan inadvertently promoted cigarette smoking in Europe by distributing American tobacco products.

In Germany, post-war anti-smoking efforts were conflated with Nazi authoritarianism, leading to increased smoking rates.

The cigarette industry's growth was not solely due to the wars, but they significantly accelerated its acceptance and popularity.

Cigarette smoking became a tribal act during conflicts, signifying conformity and solidarity among soldiers.

The globalized post-war world facilitated the spread of cigarette smoking and its associated health risks.

The cigarette's rise to prominence was intertwined with military strategy, marketing, and societal shifts in the 20th century.

Transcripts

- When the First World War began,

everything was about to change,

and the cigarette was no exception.

Before 1914, the cigarette was considered

the vice of the underclass, of criminals, foreigners,

outcasts and rogues.

It was seen as a blight

on the health of the average American,

and a harbinger of the collapse of the Republic.

But when the war ended, four years later,

the cigarette suddenly exploded in popularity,

no longer was its smoker a pariah, but a patriot.

How did this happen?

How did the cigarette go from nothing

to a titan of the world?

It has everything to do with war.

It's the story of how the world's militaries

briefly became the largest cartels in the world,

addicting millions of soldiers

and sending them back home to spread their habits.

It's how advertisers exploited that fact,

and how the United States sold the cigarette

to a world ravaged by conflict.

This is the story of "How War Made the Cigarette."

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Let's get back to the video.

Society in the late eighteen and early nineteen-hundreds

was not particularly fond of the cigarette.

It was a mysterious novelty that most were ignorant of,

and in the dim light of ignorance

is born fear and prejudice.

In Great Britain, cigarettes were linked

with a lack of manliness and effeminacy.

In the United States, it was associated

with immoral miscreants, up to no good, or criminals,

or foreigners whose customs may as well have been alien

as far as the American middle class was concerned.

Reflecting that mood, one particularly alarmist

1886 "New York Times" article wrote that, quote,

"The decadence of Spain began

when the Spaniards adopted cigarettes,

and if this pernicious practice

obtains among adult Americans the ruin of the Republic

is close at hand."

Influential Americans such as Henry Ford

also railed against the cigarette,

in this 1914 pamphlet, he argues that,

"If you study the history of almost any criminal,

you will find that he is an inveterate cigarette smoker."

Early health reformers too criticized the product

on the basis that it was unhealthy, and that it threatened

to enfeeble an entire generation of young Americans,

who were seen to smoke it disproportionately.

Temperance activists likened the cigarette vice

to that of alcohol and its destructive side effects,

creating the unenviable association with a product

that would soon be outlawed in the entire country

under prohibition.

But of course, the cigarette never met that fate.

Between 1895 and 1921, 15 states banned cigarette sales,

but those bans were short-lived,

by 1927, they had all been repealed.

In fact, in the face of all that opposition

between 1900 and 1920, per capita consumption

saw an increase of more than 1,000 percent.

The war against the cigarette never reached the same heights

as the war against alcohol,

another conflict rudely derailed it

before it could reach its peak, the First World War.

The First World War caused a massive uptick

in cigarette consumption in most participating countries.

In the United Kingdom, consumption of the cigarette

nearly doubled, between 1914 and 1920,

coming to represent the majority of tobacco sales.

In France too, cigarette sales rose

from 3.7 to 4.9 billion from 1913 to 1919,

a 31% increase in six years.

A year before war broke out in 1914,

Germany produced roughly 13 billion cigarettes,

when records become available again in 1925,

they were producing 30.5 billion.

The U.S. was no exception, its per capita consumption rates

more than doubled between 1915 and 1920,

some estimates say it tripled.

A significant cause of this increase

was the popularity of cigarettes among soldiers.

They were included in the rations of U.S., British,

French and German servicemen

as a means of improving morale in the trenches.

It was recognized early on that the nicotine present

in a cigarette was an effective means

of calming the nerves of soldiers,

who were inescapably surrounded in every waking moment

by all manner of calamity and catastrophe.

The cigarette was a solace in a sea of mayhem,

a slim white and brown soldier standing rank and file

in a trench-like box of its own,

helping to wash away the misery of war.

So, militaries became drug dealers,

addicting their soldiers to cigarettes

hoping to keep spirits high.

Reflecting the importance the U.S. Army placed on smoking,

General John Pershing, the commander

of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe stated,

"You ask me what we need to win this war.

I answer tobacco as much as bullets.

Tobacco is as indispensable as the daily ration.

We must have thousands of tons without delay."

The British Minister of Food, David Thomas,

also sang its praises,

he said, "Our men would eat a great deal more

if they did not have tobacco,"

acknowledging that smoking reduced the appetite

and thus lowered the amount of food

required by the average soldier.

The cigarette just happened to be the most effective vehicle

for the delivery of tobacco and nicotine, small and compact,

it was the natural choice over cigars or pipes

in a logistics calculus.

This along with psychological and physiological effects

that would deemed beneficial in wartime

meant it suddenly became a product very much in vogue.

Indeed, even former temperance activists

who had opposed cigarettes just prior to the war

had suddenly changed their tunes.

The Young Men's Christian Association, or YMCA,

a formerly ardent opponent of smoking

whose founder stated cigarettes

were, quote, "a growing evil,"

was now actively handing them out

to soldiers on the front lines and in military canteens.

What was the rationale behind this change of heart?

Well, smoking cigarettes was seen

as relatively less harmful, compared with the likes

of alcoholism, prostitution, harder drugs and gambling.

The YMCA reasoned that cigarettes

could be used to keep soldiers away

from these more sinister activities.

As for the concerns about health,

well, denying cigarettes to soldiers

on the basis of health risks seemed rather ridiculous,

considering they stood amidst shell and shrapnel

day after day on the front.

One YMCA member explained the absurdity of the matter

in a brutal fashion.

"Hundreds of thousands of men in the trenches would go mad,

or at least become so nervously inefficient

as to be useless, if tobacco were denied them.

Many a sorely wounded lad has died

with a cigarette in his mouth, whose dying was less bitter

because of the poison pill.

The argument that tobacco may shorten the life

5 or 10 years, and that it dulls the brain in the meantime,

seems a little out of place in a trench

where men stand in frozen blood and water

and wait for death."

While the cigarette helped soften the tedium

and trauma of life in the trenches,

it addicted hundreds of thousands of men

to a harmful stimulant that they did not need

during peacetime.

World War I did eventually end, and when it did,

the U.S. Army sent home a new generation of addicts

it had made dependent on the cigarette and like clockwork,

the Western World's markets smelled an opportunity,

an opportunity to sell more product.

Benedict Crowell, the Assistant Director of War Munitions

in the United States, estimated that 95%

of all American soldiers used tobacco,

in one form or another, during the war.

Cigarette companies were aware of this,

and they were eager to capture these potential new customers

as soon as they came home from service abroad.

The cigarette manufacturer, Chesterfield,

released this set of adverts in January of 1919,

just two months after the end of hostilities in Europe.

They depicted servicemen from the Air Force, Navy,

and Military, puffing away at a mild Chesterfield,

creating an explicit association

between the cigarette and the soldier.

In doing so, they managed to make smoking patriotic,

where once cigarettes were lumped together

with America's ills and immorality,

they were now associated with far more positive values,

freedom, democracy, and modernity.

War had just popularized the cigarette.

Just as importantly, the war and these ads

disrupted the perception of the cigarette

as an effeminate vice

meant mainly for, quote, "boys and women,"

as one 1884 "New York Times" article put it.

Prior to the First World War, the pipe was seen

as the manliest means of consuming tobacco,

but now, the cigarette had taken its place.

By becoming the soldier's habit,

it had transformed itself into the quintessential symbol

of American masculinity.

But it wasn't just in the United States that the cigarette

became associated with war and patriotism.

In March of 1917, the British tobacco manufacturer Wills

released a set of 24 cards

included in their cigarette packs.

Each card depicted servicemen from different branches

of the military, and on occasion,

the less famous supporting casts of the war.

A masterstroke of marketing, this connected cigarettes

with the bravery and sacrifice of the average person

toiling away in the machine of war,

whether they be on the front lines or in the factory,

every drag and puff of a Wills cigarette

was henceforth imbued with patriotic fervor.

Another clever element of including cigarette cards,

although Wills definitely weren't the first to do so,

was that it encouraged smokers to buy more packs

until they completed the full set of 24,

it gamified the addiction.

Despite these innovative tactics,

cigarette advertising and the cigarette industry itself

was still in its infancy at the time,

in many ways, World War I was just the beginning,

the Second World War was when the cigarette

really turned on its afterburners.

The impact of World War II

on the popularity of cigarettes seems obvious,

one only needs to look at this graph.

It shows an increase in the U.S.

from roughly 1,800 cigarettes in per capita consumption

in the year 1939, to nearly double that in 1945.

We should, however, be careful

not to conflate correlation with causation.

The cigarette industry,

as historian Richard Tennant outlines,

experienced consistent growth throughout the decades

between World War I and II and was only hampered

by external events such as the Great Depression.

That is to say, the cigarette

looked to be on an upward trend even before World War II.

That trend would've likely continued

even in the absence of the conflict

as industrialization ramped up

and the increasing convenience

and fashionableness of the cigarette grew as well.

The Second World War, although not essential

to the success of the cigarette,

transformed its tempered rise into a meteoric one.

During World War I, a mere total of 7.5 billion cigarettes

were shipped abroad for military use,

that number had skyrocketed to 92 billion per year

in World War II.

The number of cigarettes being consumed

by the average American soldier was so high

that one December 1944 defense report wrote that, quote,

"30% of the total available supply of cigarettes

is going to our armed forces overseas."

This coupled with a sharp increase

in civilian demand for cigarettes led to a cigarette famine,

ultimately resulting in hoarding and panic buying.

This prompted the American cigarette industry

to go into overdrive to keep up,

pumping out a quantity of cigarettes

once thought unfathomable.

Yearly output climbed from 172.5 billion in 1939

to 267.6 billion in 1945,

an increase of 55% over six years.

Even more than in the First World War,

cigarette marketing became associated

with wartime patriotism and sacrifice.

Adverts like this one encouraged the reader

to buy cigarettes and war bonds

in support of the war effort,

as if trying to conflate the two

as similarly patriotic acts.

Ad campaigns also started targeting women,

who had been drafted in droves

into the US's war support industry.

This advertisement in a November 1944 edition of "Vogue"

depicted four women, each in different

war-related vocations, praising Camel cigarettes

as their smoke of choice,

"With so many women in the war, as with so many men,

their cigarette is Camel."

Cigarette manufacturers also began encouraging women

to buy gifts for their husbands or boyfriends

in the military, as if the number of free cigarettes

included in the rations of every soldier wasn't enough.

Two of the largest brands, Camel and Chesterfield's,

both published advertisements promoting the practice,

each trying to convince female buyers that their product

was the most savored smoke in the service,

and that they should send them off as gifts overseas,

sometimes by the carton.

Another war-related marketing ploy

saw the cigarette company Lucky Strike

claim to have swapped out their old branding colors,

green and red, for a new red and white look,

because green contained copper,

a metal increasingly needed for war manufacturing.

They painted this shift as a patriotic move

of self-sacrifice, initiating a marketing campaign

with the tagline, "Lucky Strike Green has Gone to War!"

In actuality, the green they used contained chromium,

not copper, and Lucky Strike had known

their existing color schemes to be unpopular for some time.

In the 1940s, sleek and minimalistic branding

was gaining popularity, and Lucky Strike likely planned

to change its packaging colors regardless of World War II.

The U.S. joining the war

was probably just a fortuitous opportunity

to link their product to the armed forces and patriotism.

To further drive home the association

between Lucky Strikes and the military,

they included "Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco,"

rendered in a style similar to Morse code,

next to the packaging in its adverts.

This sort of aggressive marketing wasn't present everywhere.

In Germany, cigarette advertisements

were heavily restricted.

The Nazi Party trumpeted anti-smoking rhetoric

and banned public smoking in a number of places

on the basis of public hygiene and social purity.

Despite this, cigarettes were declared

a war important product under their government.

Much like in the U.S. during World War I,

moral and health reservations about the cigarette

were relegated in favor of their benefits

as wartime morale boosters.

In 1941, Joseph Goebbels,

head of Germany's propaganda ministry,

blocked attempts at instituting a campaign

against smoking during the war,

citing the fact that millions of soldiers

were currently provided cigarettes by the state

for use on the front.

Despite this, the Nazi Party's position

was generally that of opposition to smoking,

even if in practice they were somewhat flexible,

and this would have a pernicious legacy.

As a result of the Nazi aversion to the cigarette

and their public criticism of the practice,

postwar anti-smoking efforts became conflated

with the authoritarianism of Nazi Germany.

Pro-tobacco cigarette activists and marketers

were quick to label public health campaigns

against the cigarette as fascistic throwbacks

to the Nazi Era.

This is theorized to have led to an increase

in German cigarette consumption in the postwar period

as health efforts against tobacco were stigmatized.

Elsewhere in Europe, the cigarette

became more commonplace too.

Under the Marshall Plan, a relief program

designed to boost capitalist democracies

and impede Soviet communism, 4.4% of all products

shipped to Europe were tobacco-based

between 1948 and 1951.

One Virginia congressman, John W. Flannagan,

a long-time industry advocate and lawmaker

on account of his state being a large tobacco producer,

argued that the distribution of the product

would, quote, "Aid in eliminating or retarding

the spread of ideologies antagonistic to democracy

and to world peace."

This, however, happened to be a great boon

for the U.S. tobacco industry,

who in their attempts to meet demands, overshot them

and now had plenty of product lying around

with few buyers in sight.

Luckily for them, the U.S. government

was here to save the day.

It bought excess supply and sent it off to Europe for free,

hoping luxury goods such as tobacco

would soften austere standards of living

and restart the European economy.

The flooding of American tobacco into the European market

had its adverse effects though.

It undercut domestic manufacturing,

most drastically in Greece

which saw one of its backbone industries

threatened by cheap, subsidized tobacco.

When Greece protested, the ECA, the organization

tasked with carrying out the Marshall Plan,

stated they were unable to make any accommodations

due to pressure from the Southern tobacco lobby.

Aside from that, the influx of this tobacco

also helped reinforce a postwar culture

of smoking the cigarette as many governments

came to rely on taxing it

as a major source of their income.

Between 1945 and the late 1980s,

the cigarette came to represent around 80%

of the world's tobacco consumption,

while it has seen a decline in the United States since then,

Europe remains to this day in the thrall

of the little white and brown stick.

While we may never know what the cigarette's growth

would have looked like in the absence

of two gigantic twentieth-century conflicts,

we can say with a high degree of certainty

that they certainly boosted its popularity.

Many militaries in both World War I and II

included cigarettes in the basic rations

they gave to soldiers, from the Japanese to the Americans,

the British to the Germans.

The army became an incubator all around the world

for the smoking habit, addicting generations of soldiers

and releasing them into the world upon war's end,

only to get their friends, families,

and loved ones hooked on the stuff.

In the process, the cigarette became socially acceptable,

even patriotic, a fact advertisers exploited.

After all, how could the cigarette be so bad

if it helped the soldier fight against evil?

Smoking during conflict became above all a tribal act,

a signifier of conformity and solidarity,

and a means by which to bond in difficult times,

that culture was brought into peacetime as well.

Being a cigarette smoker gave you credentials,

made you part of an in-group,

it was a means of unspoken social assimilation

that spread all over the world.

World War II specifically had some unforeseen consequences

in Europe.

The victorious United States

intentionally helped to reinforce the cigarette habit

through the likes of the Marshall Plan.

Germany's defeat led to its population's rejection

of fascism, and anything even remotely resembling it,

it just so happened that the Nazis

weren't fans of the cigarette and as a result,

opposition to smoking acquired a burdensome association

with authoritarianism, helping it grow unopposed in Germany.

Finally, both world wars led to an increasingly globalized

and interconnected world, opening new markets

and facilitating an intercontinental cigarette trade

that was primed to spread the habit

and its myriad health risks all over the world.

The cigarette burned brightest in the twilight of war,

but it still burns on today,

dragging the hand that smokes it to an early grave.