American Tobacco and European Consumers Summary

During the seventeenth century, tobacco was the most desirable crop being sent to England from the New World. Tobacco was appealing to all European men and women. Tobacco could be smoked, sniffed, chewed, and used for enemas. Smoking was the most popular and caused an increase in pipe, box, tin, flint, steel, and pipe cleaners, which were all needed to smoke. Spittoons also increased in sales because they were needed when people chewed tobacco instead of smoking or sniffing it. Physicians in England also believed that tobacco could be used to cure any ailment that a person might have. They also recommended that people who were healthy use tobacco to prevent any sickness from occurring. Europeans were convinced it was true when sailors from the New World returned to England. When the sailors used the tobacco, they claimed it took away all their thirst and hunger and that it restored their strength and spirit after the long voyage. The most appealing part of tobacco, for Europeans, was the blissful sensation they felt while they used it. Not all Europeans approved of tobacco, though, most notably King James I of England. He claimed that tobacco did more harm to the body than good. He compared European tobacco use to the ways of Native Americans in the New World, saying that Europeans were no better than the Indians when they used it.