Cigarettes: A Brief History

In 1492 when Christopher Columbus discovered the West Indies he was greeted by the natives with local fruits, wooden spears and “a certain dried leaves which had a distinct fragrance”. By that time he threw off those dried leaves because he didn’t know the use of it. Later while travelling in Cuba he learned the use of those “certain dried leaves” by the natives and for this reason Christopher Columbus is considered as the inventor of Tobaccos. For smoking purpose the use of tobacco has been practiced for several centuries in different types of forms. In the early ages tobacco was produced individually by the smokers.

 

 

 

 

 

The first commercial tobacco plants were grown in America in the middle of 17^th. In 1865, Washington Duke started to produce rolled cigarettes in hand and sell them to others in North Carolina for a huge profit. The first cigarette rolling machine was invented in 1883 by James Bonsack which could produce approximately 1,000 cigarettes per day. After this successful invention he established the “American Tobacco Company” which was the first tobacco company on a large scale. The mechanized production of rolling cigarettes increased the popularity of smoking and made cigarettes more accessible to the smokers. The cigarettes started to sell in packs and got a huge popularity in whole USA in the late 19^th century.  The most popular cigarettes brands of 19^th century were the Fragrant Rose Cigarettes, Creole Cigarettes, Sweet Caporal, Lone Jack and Three Kings. The two cigarettes giants which are still producing cigarettes with a huge popularity are the R. J Reynolds Tobacco Company and the Philip Morris Tobacco Company.