The Real Cost - 1316 Words

â€Å"The Real Cost† According to â€Å"The Action of Smoking and Health,† every six seconds someone loses their life as a result of a tobacco related disease. It’s hard to realize how damaging cigarette smoking’s effect can be until you experience it first hand. It is almost certain that every one knows someone who is currently a smoker or was a smoker at some point in their life. For years smoking was the seen as the â€Å"cool† thing to do, it was how to â€Å"fit in.† There was no real emphasis placed on the dangers of this particular habit, and as a result, it became a world wide trend. In the past, technology and medicine were not nearly advanced enough to be able to determine just how harmful tobacco usage is. However, as we have made medical and†¦show more content†¦It all boils down to its social history. In practically every era since it was discovered, tobacco has been a huge social phenomenon. When tobacco was first brought to England it became a huge hit and soon there after, it spread to other parts of the world. At first it was only sold as a luxury to affluent city folk but eventually the manufacturing was revolutionized by the Bonsack machine which made it affordable for the general public. Ten years later, the American Tobacco Company was founded by James Buchanan Duke, who promoted cigarettes by using aggressive marketing and advertising techniques. The success of the cigarette was not only attributed to the witty business strategies utilized but also to the fact that young men in urban areas were smoking them and creating a trend. When World War 1 came about, smoking became an even bigger phenomenon. In fact, the military and governments organized a constant supply of cigarettes for the troops. At this point in time cigarette companies like Camel were bringing in tons of revenue. With all this new money, these companies were available to create bigger and better advertisements which resulted in more product consumers. In the early 1900’s this disposition became even more popular. In some parts of the world, up to 80% of the male populations were regular smokers. Smoking became an acceptable part of culture in almost all aspects of life; people did