Countries of the Americas

Latin America
Andean Area
   Bolivia
   Colombia
   Ecuador
   Peru
   Venezuela
Southern Cone
  Argentina
   Chile
  Paraguay
  Uruguay
Brazil
Central America
   Belize
   Costa Rica
   El Salvador
   Guatemala
   Honduras
  Nicaragua
   Panama
Mexico
Latin Caribbean
   Cuba
  Dominican Republic
   Haiti
   Puerto Rico

Caribbean
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Dominica
French Guiana
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guyana
Jamaica
Martinique
Montserrat
Netherlands Antilles and Aruba
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and
   the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands
Virgin Islands

North America
Canada
United States of America

  Data in this report are almost exclusively presented by the above regions. In some
instances, however, information is presented separately for the French overseas depart-
ments in the Americas (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, and Martinique) and the French
territory Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which is in North America. Such instances are noted
in the text.

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do
not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Pan
American Health Organization or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area of its authorities, or
concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.


Notes on the Text

Trade Names

Use of trade names is for identification only and does not constitute endorsement by
the Public Health Service or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Company Names

Current names are used to identify companies throughout the report. In some
instances, exact names could not be verified from current sources, and the best available
information was used. On tables reproduced from other sources, the nomenclature used in
the original source was retained.

Sources used to verify company names included Tobacco International's 57th Annual
Directory and Buyer's Guide, 1992 (Vol. 192, No. 21, New York: Lockwood Trade Journal Co.,
Inc., 1990) and the following online databases: D&&Dun's Market Identifiers, ICC British
Company Directory, and ICC British Company Financial Datasheets.
The complete name is used for the first mention of a company, after which an
abbreviated form is generally used.

Organizations, Campaigns, and Slogans

Names of organizations, coalitions, committees, government agencies, and other
groups, as well as names of public information campaigns and health campaigns and their
slogans were verified in online sources (Encyclopedia of Associations, MEDLINE, and
several news services) and in the files of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Not all such information was verifiable, and translations made into English sometimes
varied. Every reasonable effort was made to obtain the official name and/or standard
translation; we regret any inaccuracies that may have occurred.

Legislation and Health Warnings

The legal and the popular names of legislation and the wording of health warnings
required on advertisements and packaging of tobacco products were verified in several
sources. These included the United States Code Service (online database), PAHO's LEYES
database (see Chapter 5, Appendix 2), the International Digest of Health Legislation, copies of
legislation, and the files of the Centers for Disease Control's Office on Smoking and Health.
We regret any errors that may have resulted from incomplete files or inaccurate translations.

Botanic Substances

Names of substances discussed in Chapter 2 are treated as non-English words unless
they appear in Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, un-
abridged, Springfield, Massachusetts: G. & C. Merriam Company, 1981. The spelling of
non-English words was verified in foreign language dictionaries or used as cited in original
sources.


Chapter 1
Introduction, Summary,
and Chapter Conclusions

Introduction 9

Development of the Report   9
Major Conclusions 10

Summary 10

Chapter Conclusions 12

Chapter 2. The Historical Context   22
Chapter 3. Prevalence and Mortality   12
Chapter 4. Economics of Tobacco Consumption in the Americas   22
Chapter 5. Legislation to Control the Use of Tobacco in the Americas   23
Chapter 6. Status of Tobacco Prevention and Control Programs in the Americas   13

References 14


Introduction

  Recognition that the problems posed by per-
sonal risks are amenable to social solutions is an im-
portant contribution of modern public health. Each
person makes choices, but such choices are shaped by
social, economic, and environmental circumstances.
On an even broader scale, national choices are made
in a complex regional or global setting. This report
attempts to place the personal risk of smoking in the
Americas in the larger context and to underline both
the heterogeneity and the interrelationship of nations.

  Previous Surgeon General's reports have fo-
cused primarily, although not exclusively, on the epi-
demiologic, clinical, biologic, and pharmacologic
aspects of smoking. With the twenty-fifth anniversary
report (U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser-
vices 1989), in which considerable attention was de-
voted to the social, economic, and legislative aspects
of tobacco consumption, the need to place tobacco in
a larger context was made apparent. Accordingly, this
report now examines the broad issues that surround
the production and consumption of tobacco in the
Americas.

Development of the Report

  The 1992 Surgeon General's report was prepared
by the Office on Smoking and Health (OSH), National
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion, Centers for Disease Control, Public Health
Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser-
vices, as part of the department's responsibility, under
Public Law 91-222, to report current information on
smoking and health to the U.S. Congress.

  OSH, a World Health Organization Collaborat-
ing Center for Smoking and Health, works closely
with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
In the Regional Plan of Action for the Prevention and
Control of Tobacco Use, PAHO responded to the
thirty-third meeting (1988) of its Directing Council,
which recommended that PAHO (1) collaborate with
the countries of the Americas in the development of
national programs for the prevention and control of
smoking and (2) cooperate with member states and
government and nongovernment centers and groups
in identifying and mobilizing resources to contribute
to this plan of action (PAHO 1989).

  In February 1988, the Surgeon General, then C.
Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D., and the PAHO Director,
Carlyle Guerra de Macedo, M.D., M.P.H., agreed to
the development of a Surgeon General's report that

focuses on smoking in the Americas. OSH and the
Health of Adults Program of PAHO began work on
this project.

  OSH and PAHO presented the concept of a col-
laborative effort to attendees of the Fourth PAHO
Subregional Workshop on the Control of Tobacco
(Central America) in November 1988. Meetings of the
Latin American Coordinating Committee on Smoking
Control were also attended by OSH and PAHO staff
in Santa Cruz, Bolivia (January 1989), and in Port of
Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (March 1989).

  Four experts on tobacco and health (from Brazil,
Canada, Colombia, and Costa Rica) served on the
Senior Editorial Board, and a collaborator was identi-
fied in each of the participating member states. In
September 1989, work began on the current report and
on a country-by-country summary of the current sta-
tus of tobacco prevention and control in the Americas,
which PAHO is issuing as a companion document to
this report (PAHO 1992).

  The current report has been prepared from re-
views written by experts in the historical, socio-
demographic, epidemiologic, economic, legal, and
public health aspects of smoking in the Americas. In
addition to standard bibliographic sources, the report
uses data supplied by the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture, the Centers for Disease Control, The World Bank,
the World Health Organization, the Economic Com-
mission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the
Caribbean Community Secretariat, the Latin Ameri-
can Center on Demography, the International Union
Against Cancer, the International Organization of
Consumers Unions, the American Cancer Society, and
the Latin American Coordinating Committee on
Smoking Control.

  In addition, this report uses information derived
from a data collection instrument developed by
PAHO (with technical assistance from OSH) for the
companion report on the current status of tobacco
prevention and control in PAHO's member states.
The data collection instrument requested current in-
formation on tobacco cultivation, cigarette consump-
tion, legislation, taxation, government and non-
government programs to control tobacco, tobacco-use
surveys, and tobacco-related disease impact. Detailed
information from this data collection instrument was
reviewed at meetings in Caracas, Venezuela (Febru-
ary 1990), and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
(March 19901, before incorporation into PAHO's country-
by-country status report.

Infroducfion 9


Major Conclusions

  Five major conclusions have emerged from re-
view of the complex factors affecting smoking in the
Americas. The first two relate to the current size of the
problem; the latter three, to current conditions that
have an important influence on the prevention and
control of tobacco use.

1.  The prevalence of smoking in Latin America and
the Caribbean is variable but reaches 50 percent or
more among young people in some urban areas.
Significant numbers of women have taken up
smoking in recent years.

2.  By 1985, an estimated minimum of 526,000 smoking-
attributable deaths were occurring yearly in the
  Americas; 100,000 of these deaths occurred in
  Latin America and the Caribbean.

Summary

3.  In Latin America and the Caribbean, the current
structure of the tobacco industry, which is domi-
nated by transnational corporations, presents a
formidable obstacle to smoking-control efforts.

4.  The economic arguments for support of tobacco
production are offset by the long-term economic
effects of smoking-related disease.

5. Commitment to surveillance of tobacco-related
factors-such as prevalence of smoking; morbid-
ity and mortality; knowledge, attitudes, and prac-
tices; tobacco consumption and production; and
taxation and legislation-is crucial to the develop-
ment of a systematic program for prevention and
  control of tobacco use.

  The use of tobacco in the Americas long predates
the European voyages of discovery. Among indige-
nous populations, tobacco was used primarily for the
pharmacologic effects of high doses of nicotine, and it
played an important role in shamanistic and other
spiritual practices. Its growth as a cash crop began
only after the European market was opened to tobacco
in the early and mid-seventeenth century. During
early colonial times, the focus for tobacco cultivation
shifted from Latin America and the Caribbean to
North America, where a light, mellow brand of to-
bacco was grown. Despite antitobacco movements,
the popularity of tobacco increased dramatically after
the U.S. Civil War, and by the early part of the twen-
tieth century, the cigarette had emerged as the tobacco
product of choice in the United States.

  The first half of the twentieth century witnessed
a spectacular increase in the popularity of cigarettes
and in the growth of several major cigarette manufac-
turing companies in the United States. Interest in
international expansion was minimal until after
World War II. In the early 195Os, preliminary reports
of the health effects of tobacco first appeared; these
were followed in 1964 by the first report of the Surgeon
General on the health effects of smoking (Public
Health Service 1964). These events, which were ac-
companied by a downturn in U.S. tobacco consumption,
ushered in a period of rapid international expansion
by the tobacco companies. Their expansion into Latin

America and the Caribbean was typified by a process
of denationalization-that is, the abandonment of
local government tobacco monopolies and the cre-
ation of subsidiaries by U.S. and British transnational
tobacco corporations. The transnational companies
were particularly successful in altering local demand
by influencing consumer preferences. Local taste for
dark tobacco in a variety of forms was largely replaced
by demand for the long, filtered, light-tobacco ciga-
rettes produced by the transnational companies.

  During the 198Os, several divergent forces influ-
enced the consumption of tobacco in Latin America
and the Caribbean. Changing demographics (primar-
ily declining birth and death rates and an overall
growth in the population), increasing urbanization,
improving education, and the growing entry of
women into the labor force-all expanded the poten-
tial market for tobacco. Although systematic surveil-
lance evidence is lacking, an increased prevalence of
smoking among young people, particularly women in
urban areas, appears to have occurred during this
period. A countervailing force, however, was the
major economic downturn experienced by most coun-
tries of Latin America and the Caribbean during the
1980s. The result was that despite the increasing prev-
alence of smoking in some sectors of the population,
overall consumption of tobacco declined. Unlike the
decline in North America, however, the decline in
Latin America and the Caribbean seems to have been

10   Introduction


based on income elasticity rather than on health
concerns.

  The health burden imposed by smoking in Latin
America and the Caribbean is currently smaller than
that in North America. A conservative estimate is
that, by the mid-1980s, at least 526,000 deaths from
smoking-related diseases were occurring annually in
the Americas and that approximately 100,000 of these
deaths occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since the smoking epidemic is more recent, less wide-
spread, and less entrenched in Latin America and the
Caribbean than in North America, it may be thought
of as less "mature'`-that is, sufficient time has not yet
elapsed for the cumulative effects of tobacco use to
become manifest. Because health data from Latin
American and Caribbean countries vary in consis-
tency and comprehensiveness, establishing overall
trends for morbidity and mortality is difficult. None-
theless, the available evidence suggests an important
contrast between North America on the one hand, and
Latin America and the Caribbean on the other. In the
United States and Canada, smoking-associated mor-
tality is high and increasing because of high consump-
tion levels in the past, but prevalence of smoking is
declining. In Latin America and the Caribbean, prev-
alence of smoking is high in some sectors, but smoking-
attributable mortality is still low compared with that
for North America. This contrast augurs poorly for
public health in Latin America and the Caribbean,
unless action is taken.

  The health costs of smoking are considerable.
The U.S. population of civilian, noninstitutionalized
persons aged 25 years or older who ever smoked
cigarettes will incur lifetime excess medical care costs
of $501 billion. The estimated average lifetime medi-
cal costs for a smoker exceed those for a nonsmoker by
over $6,000. This excess is a weighted average of the
costs incurred by all smokers, whether or not they
develop smoking-related illness. For smokers who do
develop such illnesses, the personal financial impact
is much higher.

  Available data do not permit a firm estimate for
Latin America and the Caribbean. The estimate will
probably vary with the health care structure of the
country, but the burden is likely to increase with in-
creasing development and industrialization. None-
theless, early evidence suggests that smoking-
prevention programs can be cost-effective under
current economic circumstances.

  The economics of the tobacco industry in the
Americas are complex. Although tobacco had long
been thought to be an inelastic commodity, it has been
demonstrated to be both price and income elastic.

Such elasticity renders tobacco use susceptible to con-
trol through taxation and other disincentives. Reve-
nues from tobacco have been an important, though
variable, source of funds for governments, but the case
for promoting tobacco production on economic
grounds is weak. Currently, only a few countries of
Latin America and the Caribbean have economies that
are largely dependent on tobacco production. The
current economic picture, coupled with consumer re-
sponsiveness to income and price and the potential
health hazards, has created a significant opportunity
for tobacco control in Latin America and the Caribbean.

  This opportunity is reflected, to some extent, in
the fact that most countries of the Americas have
legislation that controls tobacco use. Restrictions on
advertising, the requirement of health warnings on
tobacco products, limits on access to tobacco, and
restrictions on public smoking have all been invoked.
The legislative approach is not systematic, however,
and in many countries, the programs have gaps. Fur-
thermore, the extent to which such legislation is en-
forced is not fully known. Nonetheless, the pace of
enactment suggests a growing awareness of the poten-
tial efficacy of the legislative approach.

  Overall, the public health approach to tobacco
control in Latin America and the Caribbean is variable.
Many countries have adopted some elements of com-
prehensive control, including (in addition to legisla-
tion and taxation) the development of national
coalitions, the promotion of education and media-
based activities, and the development and refinement
of surveillance systems.  Few countries, however,
have adopted the unified approach that characterizes,
for example, the program in Canada.

  The potential exists in the Americas for a strong,
coordinated effort in smoking control at the local,
national, and regional levels. The high prevalence of
smoking that is emerging in many areas is a clear
indicator of an approaching epidemic of smoking-
related disease. The potential for decreasing consumption
in Latin America and the Caribbean has been well
demonstrated, albeit by the unfortunate mechanism of
an economic downturn. The potential for a decline in
smoking prevalence motivated by health concerns has
been well demonstrated in North America. Further-
more, the importance of tobacco manufacturing and
production to local economies is undergoing consid-
erable scrutiny. Regional and international plans for
tobacco control have been developed and are being
implemented. For persons in the Americas in the
coming years, the individual decision to smoke may
well be made in an environment that is increasingly
cognizant of the costs and hazards of smoking.

Introduction 11


Chapter Conclusions

  Following are the specific conclusions from each
chapter in this report:

Chapter 2. The Historical Context

Tobacco has long played a role, chiefly as a feature
of shamanistic practices, in the cultural and spiri-
tual life of the indigenous populations of the
Americas. This usage by a small group of initiates
contrasts sharply with the widespread tobacco
addiction of contemporary American societies.
During the latter half of the nineteenth century,
amalgamation of major U.S. cigarette firms coin-
cided with the emergence of the cigarette as the
most popular tobacco product in the United
States.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, through a
process of denationalization and the formation of
subsidiaries, a few transnational corporations
now dominate the tobacco industry. The current
structure of the industry presents a formidable
obstacle to smoking-control efforts.

After rapid growth in per capita tobacco con-
sumption in Latin America and the Caribbean
during the 1960s and 197Os, a severe economic
downturn during the 1980s led to a decline in
tobacco consumption. In the absence of counter-
measures, an economic recovery is likely to insti-
gate a resurgence of tobacco consumption.

Chapter 3. Prevalence and Mortality

1.









2.









3.









73

Certain sociodemographic phenomena-such as
change in population structure, increasing urban-
ization, increased availability of education, and
entry of women into the labor force-have in-
creased the susceptibility of the population of
Latin America and the Caribbean to smoking.
The lack of systematic surveillance information
about the prevalence of smoking in most areas of
Latin America and the Caribbean hinders com-
prehensive control efforts. Available information
reflects a variety of survey methods, analytic
schemes, and reporting formats.

Available data indicate that the median preva-
lence of smoking in Latin America and the Carib-
bean is 37 percent for men and 20 percent for
women. Variation among countries is considerable,

I&   Introduction

however, and smoking prevalence is 50 percent or
more in some populations but less than 10 percent
in others. In general, prevalence is highest in the
urban areas of the more-developed countries and
is higher among men than among women.
4. The initiation of smoking (as measured by the
prevalence of smoking among persons 20 to 24
years of age) exceeds 30 percent in selected urban
areas. Although systematic time series are not
available, the data suggest that more recent co-
horts (especially of women) in the urban areas of
more-developed countries are adopting tobacco
use at a higher rate than did their predecessors.
5.  The smoking epidemic in Latin America and the
Caribbean is not yet of long duration or high
intensity, and the mortality burden imposed by
smoking is smaller than that for North America.
By 1985, an estimated minimum of 526,000 smoking-
attributable deaths were occurring each year in all
the countries of the Americas; 100,000 of these
  deaths occurred in Latin American and Caribbean
  countries.

6. The estimate of 526,000 deaths annually is conser-
vative and is best viewed as the first point on a
continuum of such estimates. However, it pro-
vides an order of magnitude for the number of
smoking-attributable deaths in the Americas.

7. The time lag between the onset of smoking and the
onset of smoking-attributable disease is forebod-
ing. In North America, a high prevalence of smok-
ing, now declining, has been followed by an
increasing burden of smoking-attributable mor-
bidity and mortality. In Latin America and the
Caribbean, rising prevalence portends a major
burden of smoking-attributable disease.

Chapter 4. Economics of Tobacco
Consumption in the Americas

1.  Because the health costs of tobacco consumption
result from cumulative exposure, they are most
pronounced in the economically developed coun-
tries of North America, which have had major
long-term exposure.  Since many countries of
Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing
an epidemiologic transition, the economic impact
of smoking is increasing.


2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

The economic costs of smoking are a function of
the economic, social, and demographic context of
a given country. In the United States, estimated
total lifetime excess medical care costs for smokers
exceed those for nonsmokers by $501 billion-an
average of over $6,000 per current or former
smoker. Similar formal estimates for many Latin
American and Caribbean countries are not available.

Evidence of the cost-effectiveness of smoking con-
trol and prevention programs has increased. In
Brazil, for example, the cost of public information
and personal smoking-cessation services is esti-
mated at 0.2 to 2.0 percent of per capita gross
national product (GNP) for each year of life
gained; treatment for lung cancer costs 200 per-
cent of per capita GNP per year of life gained.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, as GNP in-
creases, cigarette consumption increases, particu-
larly at lower income levels. This effect is
attenuated at higher income levels.

Advertising tends to increase cigarette consump-
tion, although the relationship is difficult to quan-
tify precisely.  Advertising restrictions are
generally associated with declines in consump-
tion and, hence, are an important component of
tobacco-control programs.

The case for promoting increased tobacco produc-
tion on economic grounds should be recon-
sidered.  Although tobacco is typically a very
profitable crop, much of the advantage of produc-
ing tobacco stems from the various subsidies,
tariffs, and supply restrictions that support the
high price of tobacco and provide economic rents
for tobacco producers. Although the tobacco in-
dustry is a significant source of employment,
production of alternative goods would generate
similar levels of employment.

Increases in the price of cigarettes, which are a
price-elastic commodity, cause decreases in smok-
ing, particularly among adolescents. Excise taxes
may thus be viewed as a public health measure to
diminish morbidity and mortality, although the
precise impact of taxes on smoking will be influ-
enced by local economic factors.

Although the direct effects of legislation are often
difficult to specify because of interaction with a
variety of other factors, there are numerous exam-
ples of an immediate change in tobacco consump-
tion subsequent to the enactment of new laws and
regulations.

Most countries of the Americas have legislation
that restricts cigarette advertising and promotion,
requires health warnings on cigarette packages,
restricts smoking in public places, and attempts to
control smoking by young people. These laws
and regulations, however, vary in their specific
features. In many areas, the current level of en-
forcement is unknown.

Chapter 6. Status of Tobacco Prevention
and Control Programs in the Americas

1.








2.









3.









4.






5.

A basic governmental and nongovernmental in-
frastructure for the prevention and control of to-
bacco use is present in most countries of the
Americas, although programs vary considerably
in their degree of development.

The need is now recognized, and work is under
way, for developing a comprehensive, systematic
approach to the surveillance of tobacco-related
factors in the Americas, including the prevalence
of smoking; smoking-associated morbidity and
mortality; knowledge, attitudes, and practices
with regard to tobacco use; tobacco production
and consumption; and taxation and legislation.
School-based educational programs about to-
bacco use are not yet a major feature of control
activities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The few evaluation studies reported indicate that
such programs can be effective in preventing the
initiation of tobacco use.

Cessation services in most countries of the Amer-
icas are often available through church and com-
munity organizations. Private and govemment-
sponsored cessation programs are uncommon.
Media and public information activities for to-
bacco control are conducted in most countries of
the Americas, but the extent of these activities and
their effect on behavior are unknown.

Chapter 5. Legislation to Control the Use
of Tobacco in the Americas

1.  Legislation that affects the supply of and demand
for tobacco is an effective mechanism for promoting
public health goals for the control of tobacco use.

Introduction 13


References

PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION. Regional
plan of action for the prevention and control of the use of
tobacco. In: Final Reports of the 102nd and 103rd Meetings of
the PAHO Executizle Cornmiftee, XXXIV Meeting of fhe Direct-
ing Council of PAHO, XL1 Meeting, WHO Regional Committee
for the Americas. Official Document No. 232. Washington,
DC: Pan American Health Organization, 1989.

PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION. Tobacco or
Health: Status in the Americas. Washington, DC: Pan Amer-
ican Health Organization. Scientific Publication No. 536,
1992.

PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE. Smoking and Heahh. Report of
the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of fhe Public
Health Se&e, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare, Public Health Service. PHS Publication NO. 1103,
1964.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
Reducing the Health Consequences of Smoking: 25 Years of
Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Public Health.Service, Centers
for Disease Control, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.
DHHS Publication No. (CIX) 89-8411,1989.

14   Itztroduction


Chapter 2
The Historical Context

Preface 17

Tobacco Use in Indigenous Societies   29

Introduction 19
Old World Discovery of Leaf Tobacco   19
Methods of Tobacco Ingestion   20
Tobacco Chewing 20
Tobacco Drinking 20
Tobacco Licking 22
Tobacco Enema 22
Tobacco Snuffing 21
Tobacco Smoking 22
Inhaling Airborne Smoke   22
Percutaneous Tobacco Use   22
Transcendental Purpose of Native Tobacco Use   22

The Emergence of the Cigarette, 1492-1900   23
Tobacco as a Cash Crop   23
Tobacco Manufacturing and Trade   24
North America 24
Latin America and the Caribbean   25
The Expansion of Tobacco Manufacturing   26
The Manufacturing of Cigarettes   28
The Popularity of Cigarettes   29

The Emergence of the Tobacco Companies, 1900 to the Present   31
Early Growth and Consolidation   31
The 1903 Cartel   32
The Antitrust Case of 1911   32
Stagnation Domestically and Growth Abroad   33
Diversification 34

International Competition 35
The Current Structure of the Industry   35
Barriers to Entry   40
Profitability 41

The Current Status in Latin America and the Caribbean   42
The Future of Tobacco Control   48

Conclusions 49

References 50


Preface

  Since prehistoric times, tobacco has been part of the life nnd culture of the people of the
Americas and has been a prominent feature of the religious am? healing practices of the
region's indigenous societies. During the eras of discozlery, exploration, and national
independence, tobacco zoas a major commodity in the growth of trade and the development
of an economic base. In more recent times, tobacco use has become intimately entwined with
social mores, economic patterns, and, perhaps most importantly, the health of populations
in the Americas-as it has in the zuorld at large. The recognitio?z of health efiects is a recent
phenomenon in the history of tobacco use. Two main reasons for this recognition have been
proposed. First, only in this century has life expectancy increased to the point at which
smoking-related diseases begin to hazle a significant imyact. Second, only in this century
hasan efficient method of tobacco ingestion-the manufactured cigarette-becomeavailable.

  This chapter considers the historical development of tobacco use in the Americas-from
the prehistoric cultizlation of tobacco to the emergence of the manufactured cigarette and the
grozclth of transnational tobacco corporations. Such an overviezo provides a background for
understanding the current role of tobacco in the Americas.

Historicat Context 17


Tobacco Use in Indigenous Societies

Introduction

  In modern times, tobacco is ingested primarily
by burning the tobacco leaf and inhaling the smoke.
Tobacco is also chewed or placed, in the form of snuff,
in contact with the mucous membranes of the mouth.
The predominance of these methods is a fairly recent
phenomenon, and the most common delivery
system-the manufactured cigarette-has been avail-
able for only a little over a century. In the Americas,
however, tobacco has been used for millennia,
through various routes of administration and for a
broad range of social and cultural purposes. The fol-
lowing discussion reviews but does not attempt to
trace the history of tobacco use in the region's indige-
nous societies. Some of the practices discussed are
rare or extinct; others are in current use, but all con-
tribute to defining the role of tobacco in the cultural and
religious life of these societies.

  Nicotiana is an ancient genus, of which two major
species in South America--N. rustica and N. tahacum-
produce high yields of the principal alkaloid, nicotine.
Many species were present in the Southern Cone of
South America in ancient times, but they were largely
ignored until about 8,000 years ago, when the chang-
ing food supply forced a major shift from hunting and
gathering to land cultivation. At that time, popula-
tions migrated from the open savannas of southern
South America, which were largely unsuited for agri-
culture, to the tropical rain forest of the Amazon and
areas further north, including the Caribbean. Tobacco
became one of the standard crops cultivated by these
early farmers.

Old World Discovery of Leaf Tobacco

  European explorers were introduced to tobacco
in the West Indies in 1492, when natives offered to-
bacco leaves to Christopher Columbus and his men as
a token of friendship. After a subsequent exploratory
excursion through coastal Cuba, two of Columbus's
crew reported having witnessed the custom of cigar
smoking (Brooks 1937-1952). The explorers who fol-
lowed also recorded tobacco use among the Indians,
and these accounts, along with the observations of
missionaries, soldiers, travelers, and scholars, are in-
tegral to our understanding of the role of tobacco in
indigenous cultures.

  Many explorers learned that tobacco use was
addictive and multipurpose, but most of them did not

understand why Indians considered tobacco sacred.
The plant, it was soon recognized, was used in two
main ways. In small doses, it acted as a stimulant, as
a hunger and thirst suppressant, and as an analgesic.
In such quantities, tobacco was used for social pur-
poses, such as sealing friendships; augmenting pala-
vers, war councils, and dances; and strengthening
warriors. Small amounts of tobacco were also used
during ceremonies to ensure fertility; to forecast pro-
pitious weather; to predict successful fishing, lumber-
ing, and planting; and to ensure congenial courtship.
In large doses, tobacco altered states of consciousness
and was reported to facilitate spiritual objectives, such
as spirit consultations, trance states, and psychic curing.
In these excessive quantities, the substance acquired
its sacred status.

  The earliest printed reference to tobacco and the
first mention of tobacco smoking is found in the first
volume of Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes's
([1535] 1851-1855) monumental account of the discov-
ery of the Americas and the first decades of conquest.
He commented on the practice of divinatory tobacco
smoking by shamans and the methods of tobacco
cultivation among the Caquetio Indians of northern
Venezuela. He also reported in 1549 that the Nicoya
Indians of Nicaragua used ceremonial cigars and that
Spanish soldiers had been offered reed cigarettes by
Maya Indians off the coast of Yucatan (Robicsek 1978).

  During his travels in 1541 to 1555, Girolamo
Benzoni reported that the shamans of Hispaniola and
certain Central American provinces poisoned them-
selves with tobacco smoke during a curing seance. In
the process, some men fell to the ground as if dead and
remained "stupefied for the greater part of the day or
night" (Benzoni 115651 1967, p. 97). After becoming
coherent, these shamans would tell of their visions and
encounters with the gods.

  Other explorers witnessed cigar smoking on the
coast of Brazil. In 1555, the Franciscan friar Andre
Thevet (115571 1928) made contact with the
Tupinamba Indians in Brazil. He reported their use of
cigars to suppress hunger and thirst and during coun-
cil deliberations.

  Thevet's report and similar information by Hans
Staden (115571 1928) were confirmed by Jean de Lery
(1592) who reported smoking and another mode of
tobacco use-ritual tobacco blowing-among the
Tupinamba. Using long canes, chiefs blew tobacco
smoke on theeheads and faces of participants

Historical Context   19


circumambulating during war dances--purlx)rtcdIy to
impart the spirit and fortitude required to olrercomc
enemies. Canes may also have been used by the
Tupinamba as tubular pipes. A few years earlier,
Jacques Cartier (1545) had found L-shaped pipes in
use among the Iroquois of Hochelaga (Montreal).

  Another method of tobacco consumption was
reported among the Taino Indians of the Greater An-
tilles. This tribe reportedly used a forked tube to
inhale tobacco smoke (Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes
[1535] 1851-1855). The Catalonian friar Ramon Pane
((15111 1974) referred to a similar tube used by the
Indians; however, it was used to inhale psychotropic
snuff (cohoba) (D'Anghiera 1912). The tube may have
been used by the Taino for both purposes.

  Amerigo Vespucci reported the custom of leaf
chewing among Indians (de Navarrete 1880). Vespucci
might have observed tobacco chewing with lime, but
he did not identify the type of plant material. The
custom of chewing whole coca (Erythroxylon) leaves
with powdered lime was widespread along the Carib-
bean coast of South America at the arrival of the Euro-
peans, and it persists today (Plowman 1979). At the
time of European discovery, chewing tobacco powder
with ashes or pulverized shell was also common
among the Carib Indians of the Lesser Antilles and the
northeastern mainland of South America.

Methods of Tobacco Ingestion

   The discussion of traditional tobacco use that
follows is based on sources that span several hundred
years. Some methods are still practiced and some are
not. To avoid the confusion of shifting between past
and present, the present tense is used (the ethno-
graphic present) to allow a cross-sectional view of
tobacco use by indigenous societies. Although this
approach conveys a sense of immutability, some
methods of tobacco use have undergone considerable
change. Some mention is made of tobacco use among
North American indigenous societies, but the discus-
sion focuses on South American practices. The infor-
mation presented is based on Wilbert (1987),1 except
where other references are cited.

  Gastrointestinal, respiratory, and percutaneous
routes of ingestion have been documented among
South American Indians. Intravenous administration
has not been reported. The reported methods of ingestion
comprise chewing tobacco quids, drinking tobacco
juice and syrup, licking tobacco paste, administering
tobacco suppositories and enemas, using snuff, smok-
ing, inhaling airborne tobacco smoke, and applying
tobacco products to the skin and the eyes.

Tobacco Chewing

  The chewing or, more precisely, sucking Of to-
bacco quids is widely practiced in South America and
the West Indies. The widespread distribution of to-
bacco chewing is considered indicative of the antiq-
uity of this method (Zerries 1964). The practice has
been observed in the Lesser Antilles and eastern Ven-
ezuela and from northwestern Colombia and the
upper Amazon to the Montana-to-Gran Chaco region
(an area encompassing parts of Bolivia, Paraguay, and
Argentina) as well as in eastern Brazil. In North Amer-
ica, tobacco chewing was practiced by Indians of the
Pacific Northwest.  With periodic fluctuations, to-
bacco chewing has found wide acceptance in non-
Indian societies as well (U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services [USDHHSI 1986; National Can-
cer Institute 1989; Connolly et al. 1986).

  Indians in South America prepare wads or rolls
for chewing from green tobacco and sometimes dust
the wet leaves with ashes or salt and mix them with
certain kinds of soils or honey. They also use tobacco
pellets prepared by kneading finely chopped green
tobacco leaves mixed with nitrous earth into a dough
or by mixing finely crushed tobacco leaves with ashes
and wetting the powder with water to produce a
smooth paste. Guianese Indians bake a cake of fresh
tobacco leaves that is sprinkled with salt or a surrogate
obtained from o~llin IMourem flrrzliatilis). Strips of the
cake are stored in gourds, and crrmfin (resin; Protium
Izrpfaplzyllum), pepper (Capsicu,n sp.), medicinal herbs,
or lime from sea shells may be used as additives.

  Tobacco quids, rolls, or pellets are carried by the
user in the cheek or between the gum and the lower
lip for protracted periods (Hammilton 1957). Tobacco
chewing frequently occurs in conjunction with other
methods of administration, such as smoking and
snuffing, and tobacco is sometimes chewed with coca.
Indians generally swallow the trickling juices rather
than expectorate them (Bray and Dollery 1983).

Tobacco Drinking

  Along with chewing, ingesting tobacco in liquid
form may be the oldest method of tobacco use (Sauer
1969). The ethnographic distribution of tobacco

For a broader discussion of the general topic and for more
extensive documentation, consult Wilbert, J., Tobacco and
Shamanism in South America, In: Schultes, R.E., Raffauf,
R.F. (eds.) Psychoactiz~e Plants of the World. New Haven,
Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1987. See also the
papers in the Joztrna2 of Ethnopharmacology (Elsevier Scien-
tific Publishers) (Wilbert 1990) and in the proceedings
published by Birkhtiuser Verlag (Wilbert 1991).

20 Historical Context


drinking is similar to that of tobacco chewing, al-
though it is not reported in the Gran Chaco. Most of
the tribes in greater Guiana and many societies of the
upper Amazon and the Montana of Ecuador and Peru
drink tobacco juice. Tobacco drinking has also been
reported in northwestern coastal Venezuela, north-
western Colombia, and a few scattered places in Bolivia
and Brazil. Tobacco drinking has found little accep-
tance as a method of tobacco use outside South America.

  The Indians in these regions prepare tobacco
juice in various ways. In greater Guiana, tobacco juice
is usually an infusion of whole or pounded green
leaves in water. The steeped or boiled leaves are
strained and pressed by hand. Some tribes add salt or
oulin ashes to the mixture (see "Tobacco Chewing").
Other botanical materials used as ingredients by Gui-
anese tribes include the tree barks nylrcg and cinchona.
Upper Amazon and Montana tribes similarly steep,
press out, and stir tobacco leaves in water, although
these tribes frequently mince or masticate the leaves
and occasionally add pepper (Cn@~nz sp.). Boiling
tobacco leaves in water for the preparation of juice
more frequently occurs among the tribes of the upper
Amazon and the Montana than among Guianese
tribes. Unlike umbil paste, a syrup extract or jelly from
which the water is completely evaporated, the juice is
left viscous enough to allow for drinking.

  Tobacco juice is ingested by mouth or through
the nose, using cupped hands or gourds. The concen-
trate may also be squirted directly from mouth to
mouth. Tobacco drinking is often accompanied by the
consumption of tobacco in other forms, alcoholic bev-
erages, and certain hallucinogenic substances.

Tobacco Licking

  Licking of ambil is limited to the tribes of the
northernmost extension of the Andes in Colombia and
Venezuela, parts of the northwest Amazon, and a few
areas of the Montafia.

  Ambil is prepared differently from region to re-
gion. Indians in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of
Colombia boil tobacco leaves for hours or days and
thicken the black gelatin extract with maniac starch
(MunihotesctlZenta)orarrowroot (Muruntaarundinacea).
Venezuelan tribes east of Lake Maracaibo mix w-m, a
sesquicarbonate of soda, into ambil (Kamen-Kaye
1971), whereas the Montana tribes make ambil with
salt or alkaline ashes. Pepper (Cupsicum sp.), avocado
seeds (Perseu americana), crude sugar, tapioca (maniac
juice), and maniac starch are also occasionally used as
ingredients for ambil.

  A small quantity of ambil is rubbed across the
teeth, the gums, or the tongue. Ambil is sometimes

ingested with other tobacco products, and some tribes
of the Montana consume ambil with coca, ayahuasco
(Bunisteriu cuupi), and possibly other hallucinogens.

Tobacco Enema

  Use of tobacco enemas and suppositories, as a
remedy for constipation and helminthic infestations,
is reported among South American Indians. The Ship-
ibo of Peru apply a mixture of tobacco juice and ginger
as a vermifuge (Gebhart, unpublished). Ritual use of
tobacco enemas among the Aguaruna Indians of the
Peruvian Montana has recently been reported (Davidson,
unpublished). To promote intoxication, South Amer-
ican Indians apply enemas of ayahuasco, purica' (Virolu
sp.), willka fA~zndenunthera colubrinu), and tobacco
(Nicotiurzn sp.) (Roth 1924; Von Nordenskiold 1930).
Use of medicinal or ritual tobacco enemas has not been
reported among Caribbean, Central American, or
North American Indian populations.

Tobacco Snuffing

  The use of tobacco snuff, although secondary to
the use of psychotropic snuff in South America, is
documented in several regions. Ethnographic sources
indicate that tobacco snuffing is customary in the mid-
dle and upper Orinoco River, the northwest Amazon,
and the Montana-the Purus, the Guapore, and the
Andean regions. The practice has also found wide
acceptance in the non-Indian world, although interest
has fluctuated.

  To prepare tobacco snuff, Indians dry tobacco
leaves and then crush, pulverize, and often sift them.
Snuff may be inhaled directly from the hand or a leaf
or, more commonly, through a snuffing tube made of
cane or hollow bone. Snuffing powders are some-
times administered by a partner.

Tobacco Smoking

  Smoking is the most prevalent form of tobacco
consumption in native South America and is particu-
larly common in greater Guiana, the upper Amazon,
the Montaiia, Las Yungas, Mato Grosso, and the Gran
Chaco. Smoking has also been reported in many in-
tervening and peripheral areas, such as central and
northern Colombia, the middle and lower Amazon,
the coast of Brazil, Patagonia, and southern Chile.

  North American Indians, except for the Pueblo
and certain tribes in California, were exclusively pipe
smokers (Linton 1924; Robicsek 1978). In South America,
pipe smoking has prehistoric origins and is still widely
distributed throughout the continent. It is prevalent
in two focal areas-the Maraiion-Huallaga-Ucayali
region and the Gran Chaco. The practice is scattered

Historical Context 22


along the north coast and the Guiana hinterlands,
along the Amazon, and in coastal Brazil. Pipe smok-
ing also occurs farther inland and north of the Gran
Chaco focal area-in central and southern Bolivia and
on the lower Araguaia.  South of the Chaco, pipe
smoking is found in middle and southern Chile and in
Patagonia.

   South American Indians smoke tobacco in the
form of cigars, cigarillos, and cigarettes, and they use
tubular or L-shaped pipes made of reed, bamboo,
wood, fruit shells, bone, clay, or stone. They inhale
deeply and hyperventilate; rarely do they retain a puff
of smoke in the mouth before expelling or swallowing
it. The process is described as taking the smoke into
the lungs with "great sucking gasps" and "working
the shoulders like bellows" (Huxley 1957, p. 195). The
Warao Indians of the Orinoco and several other tribal
societies, such as the Vaupes Indians, hyperventilate
by smoking giant cigars that measure nearly one-
meter long and two-centimeters wide (Wallace llSS91
1972).

  Certain customs may be associated with smok-
ing. For example, cigars are usually rolled by Indian
men, but in some Indian communities, women are
expected to roll the cigars. Women may then light the
cigars and take a few puffs themselves before handing
the cigars to the men. Smoking is often accompanied
by the ingestion of hallucinogens and stimulant bev-
erages, such as guarana (Pudliniu cupunu var. sorbilis)
and cassiri.

  Tobacco is prepared for smoking by sun- or air-
drying the leaves and crushing them; some societies
alter the product with additives. To give cigar or pipe
tobacco a pungent odor similar to frankincense, Indi-
ans of Guiana and Amazonia add the resin of Protim
heptuphy~lum, a tree of the myrrh or Burseraceae fam-
ily. Cararia powder or granules are mixed with to-
bacco to give it a balsamic savor (Schultes 1980). In
Patagonia, culufufe shavings (Berberis sp.) are mixed
into the tobacco to add an acrid taste and to create a
very blue smoke when the tobacco burns. To make
cigars, cigarillos, and cigarettes, South American Indi-
ans use several types of wrappers. Although whole
tobacco leaves or pieces may be used, various kinds of
tree foliage, palm stipples, banana leaves, and maize
husks are more common. The wrappers usually add
flavor and odor to the tobacco, and in some instances,
observers have noted that the cover leaves may en-
hance the narcotic effect (Weyer 1959).

Inhaling Airborne Smoke
   The intentional inhalation of environmental to-
bacco smoke is a peculiarly South American method

of respiratory absorption of nicotine. This practice
occurs on the east coast of Brazil, where religious
practitioners blow tobacco smoke from canes and funnel-
shaped cigars onto the heads and into the faces of
dancing warriors. Men of this region also inhale the
smoke of tobacco leaves burning inside effigy rattles.
Cuna elders of Panama have cigar smoke blown into
their faces, and Jivaro men of Peru blow tobacco smoke
through long tubes into the open mouth of a partner.

Percutaneous Tobacco Use

  The administration of tobacco products to intact
or abraded skin is widespread in native South Amer-
ica and includes the following practices: general and
directed smoke blowing; spit blowing of tobacco juice,
nicotine-laden saliva, or tobacco powder; and admin-
istration of saliva massages, juice ablutions, and snuff
and leaf plasters or compresses. Some of these prac-
tices may serve therapeutic purposes. Tobacco smoke
and juice may also be applied to the eyes for absorp-
tion of nicotine by the conjunctiva.

Transcendental Purpose of Native
Tobacco Use

  Tobacco is traditionally used as a vehicle for
transcendental experience by South American indige-
nous societies. As such, it is central to the religious
rites of these populations and is a primary tool of the
shamans, or spiritual leaders of these societies. To-
bacco features in the initiation rituals of the shamans
and is used throughout their careers as a mechanism
for exercising power and maintaining credibility.

   A fundamental role of the shamans is to serve as
spiritual protectors who defend their societies against
a host of intangible adversaries. Thus, a society's per-
ception of the shaman as being supernatural as well as
human is integral to the shaman's position. This dual
nature is conferred during initiation rituals in which
the novice undergoes a tobacco-induced deathlike
state associated with temporary respiratory depres-
sion (Dole 1964). Revival from this condition is
equated with a rebiih that imparts otherworldly powers.

  During initiation, the novice ingests increasing
amounts of tobacco and achieves acute intoxication.
The candidate manifests a state of illness through
nicotine-mediated nausea, heavy breathing, vomiting,
and prostration. Through tremors, convulsions, or
seizures, the novice progresses to acute narcosis and
apparent death.  The physiologic stages through
which the novice passes depend on the rate of bio-
transformation of nicotine in the body (Larson 1952;
Larson, Haag, Silvette 1961). The induction master's
ability to interpret physical signs is critical.

22   Historical Context


  In Guiana, for example, shamans make initiates
drink liters of tobacco juice, which bring them to the
brink of death. Several cupfuls of tobacco pulp are
ingested in rapid succession, and a large bowl of liquid
tobacco is force-fed through a funnel into the mouth
of a swooning candidate. Initiates who fail to vomit
part of the brew may convulse, become ill over an
extended period, or die.

  Shamans must continually demonstrate their
spiritual power to themselves and to the community
to maintain effectiveness as religious practitioners and
healers (Reichel-Dolmatoff 19751. The pharmacologic
effects of nicotine help them accomplish that goal.
South American shamans reportedly ingest giant ci-
gars while simultaneously chewing tobacco during
ceremonies. Participants in certain rituals and shama-
nit curing seances on the Guapore River (Brazil) have
been observed taking dozens of insufflations of to-
bacco powder and ingesting up to 60 doses of rap6
(snuff). Aguaruna vision seekers of Ecuador use to-
bacco enemas to produce a deathlike state. Shamans
blow tobacco smoke and spittle against atmospheric
enemies, such as thunder and lightning, that threaten
human existence.

  In many societies, shamans exercise power in the
form of aggressive "were-jaguars," another condition
accomplished through tobacco ingestion. Nicotine is
used to provoke several physical changes, including a
deep raspy voice, a furred tongue, and a fusty body
odor. Nicotine also activates cholinergic pregangli-
onic fibers of the sympathetic nervous system to stim-
ulate the adrenal medulla to release epinephrine and
norepinephrine, which mobilize the shaman's body
for emergency reaction (USDHHS 1988; Schievelbein
and Werle 1967). This generalized arousal is interpre-
ted by the properly initiated shaman as characteristic
of jaguar-men, and this experience confirms his
shamanic status and role.

  The use of tobacco for transcendental purposes
in indigenous societies contrasts with its subsequent
use in other American societies.  In modern Latin
American and Caribbean societies, tobacco is increas-
ingly consumed for the social enjoyment of the stimu-
lant rather than for the toxic and organoleptic effects
of nicotine sought by the Indians. Acute intoxication,
and its attendant immediate threat to health, has giv-
en way to long-term addiction and chronic health
consequences.

The Emergence of the Cigarette, 1492-1900

Tobacco as a Cash Crop

  Europeans did not follow native tobacco prac-
tices but developed a tobacco culture of their own
based on trade. One of the earliest references to tobacco
trade appears in Diego Columbus' will (dated 15341,
which mentions a Lisbon tobacco merchant. The French
ambassador to Portugal presented tobacco purchased in
Lisbon to Queen Catherine de Medici of France in 1561,
and a Spanish physician may have introduced tobacco to
the court of King Philip II of Spain around 1560 (Fairholt
1185911968). Tobacco was first brought to England by Sir
John Hawkins about 1565, and England soon had a large
and fast-growing market (Anonymous 1602).

  Within 30 years of Columbus's voyages, a to-
bacco trade had been established by the Spaniards
between the Caribbean and India, and trade later de-
veloped with Japan, China, and the Malay peninsula
(Robert 1967). Spanish tobacco, grown mostly in the
Caribbean, dominated the market in the early six-
teenth century. Sales of tobacco products became so
lucrative that, in 1557, the Havana (Cuba) city council

forbade black women from engaging in the tobacco
trade, thus retaining trade for Europeans (Ortiz 1947).
Tobacco growing thrived in parts of Latin America as
well, especially in areas of Venezuela (Caracas,
Cumanb, and Margarita).

  Although the Spaniards attempted to monopo-
lize the tobacco trade, many growers smuggled the
leaf to Dutch and English ships. To curtail the contra-
band trade, King Philip II banned tobacco planting in
most of the Spanish Colonies in Latin America from
1606-1616, a policy that stimulated England's search
for its own source of tobacco (Robert 1967).

  Sir Walter Raleigh first smoked tobacco in the
Virginia colony in 1585, and John Rolfe introduced
N. tabuctlm to the colony about 1611. Tobacco, a much-
needed cash crop for the struggling Jamestown settle-
ment, was exchanged for imported manufactured
goods, and the colony soon became economically via-
ble. Tobacco was taken to the Maryland settlements,
where the soil produced a yellow tobacco known as
Bright (Tilley 1948). According to Rolfe, Bright was
"as strong, sweet, and pleasant as any under the sun,"

Historical Context 23


and with additional "trial1 and expense," it could com-
pete with leaf grown in the West Indies (Morton 1945,
p. 119). Maryland emerged as an important tobacco
producer, and attempts to cultivate the crop in North
Carolina also proved successful.

  The first shipment of tobacco from Virginia
reached London in 1613. Within three years, tobacco
became the most significant crop and chief export of
the British Colonies in North America (Tilley 1948).
Tobacco was sold for its weight in silver, which en-
couraged production, exportation, and taxation
(Wagner 1971). Thus, tobacco production became
centered in the North American colonies, and the
purchase of tobacco became an expensive indulgence.

  Tobacco cultivation in Virginia allowed England
to begin freeing itself from the Spanish tobacco trade.
By 1614, high-quality Virginia tobacco was considered
comparable to that grown in Trinidad (Bruce 118951
1935). During 1615 to 1616, the Virginia Colony ex-
ported 2,500 pounds of tobacco, all but 200 pounds of
which were sent to England, but the English imported
58,300 pounds from Spain (Brooks 1937-1952). This
importation greatly concerned the English govern-
ment because it created both a trade imbalance and an
outflow of currency (Jacobstein 1907). In 1621, as the
supply of Virginia tobacco increased, Parliament ter-
minated importation of Spanish tobacco, which by
then cost England E60,OOO (Jacobstein 1907).

  But not all Europeans were in favor of tobacco
use. Some Europeans used tobacco for medicinal pur-
poses, perhaps in imitation of South American Indi-
ans, but other Europeans believed that the use of
tobacco was a heathen practice to be strongly discour-
aged. Many people claimed that smoking and chew-
ing tobacco were harmful to health. The most fa-
mous attack on tobacco appeared in 1604, when
King James I anonymously issued A Courltrr-B&c fo
Tobacco, in which he disclaimed any medicinal value
of tobacco and described smoking as a loathsome
practice (James I 116041 1954).

  The King imposed a 400 percent tariff (McCusker
1988), but the tax had little impact on tobacco use,
perhaps because demand was greatest among the
upper classes. By the early seventeenth century,
smoking and chewing tobacco were prevalent
throughout most of Europe. In London in 1614, to-
bacco could be purchased at 7,000 establishments
(Lehman Brothers 19551, and because of its presumed
medicinal value, tobacco was commonly prescribed
by physicians and made available at apothecaries.

  In the New World, a sixpence fine was set for
smoking in public in New Haven, Connecticut, in
1646, but in the following year, the Connecticut general

court ruled that citizens could smoke or chew if they
had a license from the court, unless they already had
a doctor's prescription (Heimann 1960).

  Concerns about tobacco faded, and attempts
were made to grow tobacco in Europe. But climate
and soil contributed to an unsatisfactory leaf. In the
seventeenth century, attempts to produce tobacco
were also made in Russia, Persia, India, Japan, and
parts of Africa (Morton 1945); however, during this
period, Europeans could obtain a sufficient supply of
tobacco through importation from the New World
only.

Tobacco Manufacturing and Trade

North America

  In the Navigation Acts (1651 to 16731, the English
parliament stipulated that all tobacco products from
the colonies had to be shipped to England before being
shipped elsewhere. The Acts were difficult to enforce,
however, and resulted in a policy of benign neglect.
But the passage of the Acts caused prices to rise
sharply. Since tobacco production in the Virginia Col-
ony was low, increased prices encouraged a prolifer-
ation of small farms in North America and, eventually,
large tobacco plantations. The shortage of workers for
these plantations spurred the slave trade, which in-
creased the labor supply.

  Annual tobacco shipments from the colonies in-
creased significantly-from approximately 65,000
pounds in the early 162Os, to 1 million pounds by the
late 163Os, to 20 million pounds in the late 1670s
(Kulikoff 1986). By 1699, of the 30,757,OOO pounds of
tobacco exported to England from its North American
colonies, all but 113,000 pounds were produced in
Virginia and Maryland; 496,000 pounds were im-
ported by England from other areas, including Eu-
rope, Turkey, Africa, and the Caribbean. During the
next 75 years, imports from other areas declined, de-
spite several sharp increases (Table 1). Reexportation
of tobacco increased steadily during the first half of the
eighteenth century and then peaked at 74,000 pounds
in 1775 (U.S. Department of Commerce [USDOC]
1975).

  Tobacco became the most important cash crop of
the British Colonies. Labor for tobacco production
was worth six times that used for wheat production
(Jacobstein 1907), and in 1770, the total value of to-
bacco legally exported from the colonies (E906,638)
was significantly greater than that of flour or rice
(!Z504,553 and E340,693, respectively). Fifty percent of
all British colonists obtained their living from tobacco
production (Jacobstein 19071. In Maryland, wages

24 Historical Corztexf


Table 1.  Tobacco trade* in England, 1700-1775

Year

1700
1705
1710
1715
1720
1725
1730
1735
1740
1745
1750
1755
1760
1765
1770
1775

Imported from
North
American    Other
colonies    countries  Reexported+
         -~ ~~~~~
37,607       233
15,629       32           -
23,472       26     16,000
17,801        8     15,000
34,516       10
21,034        12      16,000
34,949       131      33,000
40,068        1
35,896       106     42,000
41,063       10     43,000
51,278        61
48,867       217     45,000
52,288       59     64,000
48,317        3     68,000
39,184        4      73,000
55,458       510      74,000

Source:  U.S. Department of Commerce (197J).
*In thousands of pounds.

`Reexportation exceeded importation in the later years
because of tobacco grown in the British Isles.

were often paid in tobacco, which also functioned as
a currency WSDOC 1975). In England, all companies
involved in the tobacco industry also profited enor-
mously, including those that provided banking and
related services to planters.

  In the 158Os, the Spaniards developed and ex-
panded the plantation system in the Caribbean but
emphasized sugar production (Brooks 1952). Foreign-
ers began to enter the sugar industry, which required
extensive capital, but tobacco production was domi-
nated by local businesses. By 1606,95 farms in Cuba
specialized in tobacco (Andrews 1978). Little is
known, however, about the industry in Cuba during
this period, perhaps because Cuban farms grew the
expensive and delicate tobaccos used in cigars and
were quite small compared with the Virginia planta-
tions (Ortiz 1947). The competitive advantage for the
Cuban growers may have been that the leaf used for
Cuban cigars produced a richer flavor with less nico-
tine than did the Bright leaf grown in the Chesapeake
Bay area.

  During shipping, tobacco lost much of its mois-
ture, and it had to be moistened before handling. To
prepare tobacco leaves for smoking, the stems and ribs
were removed and additives, such as sugar, glycerine,
gum, and starch, caused the leaves to ferment. The
leaves were either granulated for smoking or snuffing
or pressed into plug for chewing. The different addi-
tives provided tobacco with distinct flavors. These
flavors and the various shapes of plugs (including
thick coil, pigtail, black twist, and Irish) offered the
customer a wide selection in tobacco. Generally, the
moister the plugs, the less expensive.  up to 120
pounds of plug could be manufactured from 100
pounds of tobacco, and carotte, an extremely moist
variety, could yield 150 pounds of plug (Alford 1973).
  But even before the American Revolution, the      In 1717, a tobacco monopoly was granted to
colonies had problems maintaining a steady level of   Martin Arostegui by royal edict. Tobacco manufac-
tobacco production. Tobacco depleted the soil, which   turing was forbidden in Cuba, and raw leaf had to be
resulted in lower yields per acre over time. Tobacco   sent to Spain (Stubbes 1985). As a result, tobacco
growers faced a dilemma: maintaining their level of   farmers revolted in 1717,1718, and 1723. The monopoly
income required expanded planting, but a larger crop   lasted for a century, however, and despite its adverse

  In the Chesapeake Bay area, the choice was be-
tween cotton and tobacco, and tobacco became more
important. In Cuba, the choice was between sugar
and tobacco, and tobacco became the less important
crop (Ortiz 1947). Nevertheless, by 1711, a processing
center was established in Havana to prepare tobacco
leaf for shipment.  In 1734, the center processed 3
million pounds of tobacco, one-third of which was of
the best quality and was used to make snuff (Bray and
Harding 1974).

would also depress prices. Average price per pound
for Maryland tobacco was already fluctuating sharply:
one pence in 1713, 0.71 pence in 1714, 1.19 pence in
1720, and 0.65 pence in 1731. A general slump was
followed by a steadily rising price per pound: 1.48
pence in 1752 and 2.23 pence in 1769. However, prices
again declined in 1773 to 1.13 pence per pound
(USDOC 1975). Some Virginia planters seriously con-
templated abandoning tobacco in favor of wheat, and
some did stop cultivating tobacco (Breen 1985).

  Because of their increasing indebtedness to Brit-
ish merchants, most tobacco growers in the Bright Belt
supported the American Revolution (Breen 1985).
Thomas Jefferson wrote that these debts "had become
hereditary from father to son, for many generations,
so that the planters were a species of property, an-
nexed to certain merchants in London" (Heimann
1960, p. 76). The American Revolution terminated the
Navigation Acts but did not alter the adverse circum-
stances that many planters still faced.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Historicnl Corztext 25


effect on business, the tobacco trade continued to pros-
per (Ortiz 1947). From 1789 to 1794, Cuba produced
about 6.25 million pounds of tobacco per year. A
decline followed, due to imperial interference, the
increasing cost of land, and the preference given to
sugar and coffee production. By 1804, Cuba was obli-
gated to import 1 million pounds of tobacco from the
United States to meet the requirements of the Havana
retail trade. Not until the Spanish government re-
lented did the industry revive enough for Cuba to
dominate the market for tobacco leaf and fine cigars in
the 1830s (Turnbull [18401 1973; Humboldt [18561
1969).

  Tobacco cultivation also flourished in Brazil, de-
spite condemnation by the Roman Catholic Church
and early Portuguese demands to use the land to grow
food. However, these obstacles were overcome be-
cause the sale of tobacco could provide ready funds
for purchasing slaves to work in the sugar cane fields.
Tobacco sales became a state monopoly in Brazil in
1624, but sales were so profitable that the government
yielded to private interests and abolished the monop-
oly in 1642. In 1659, the government reestablished the
monopoly, which by 1716 earned 1.4 million crusades
a year. Tobacco exports from Bahia averaged 375,000
pounds per year, and annual sales of Brazilian tobacco
in London in the early eighteenth century were esti-
mated at 1.9 million crusades (Randall 1977).

The Expansion of Tobacco Manufacturing
  During the American Revolution, tobacco ex-
ported from the British Colonies declined sharply-to
approximately 15 million pounds per year. Subse-
quent wars also contributed to the loss of foreign
markets. Sales declined significantly during the Na-
poleonic Wars and the War of 1812 due to English
blockade of American ports. In addition, revenues to
cover the cost of these wars were raised by increasing
excise taxes. In 1794, a tax was levied on manufac-
tured tobacco to help cover the cost of the national
government, but the tax was discontinued two years
later. It was reintroduced to help defray the costs of
the War of 1812 and remained in effect until 1816.
England increased the tax on tobacco imports in 1815
from 28 cents to 75 cents per pound, which resulted in
decreased consumption-from 22 million to 15 mil-
lion pounds (Jacobstein 1907).

  During the American Revolution, Europeans ac-
celerated importation of tobacco from Latin America
and the Caribbean and attempted to increase tobacco
production elsewhere. Cuba, Colombia, Austria,
Germany, and Italy were among the more active
participants, but Sumatra also became a significant

source of tobacco for Europe. By 1841, European pro-
duction was estimated at 137 million pounds, com-
pared with 219 million pounds in the United States.
Europeans continued to purchase American tobacco,
and in 1860, half of the total U.S. production of approx-
imately 400 million pounds was shipped to Europe
(Jacobstein 1907).

  But taxation and the loss of some foreign markets
contributed to a lower price for tobacco, which made
cotton production more attractive to U.S. farmers. The
United States was the world's leading cotton pro-
ducer, with no competition from Europe. Yet, several
factors contributed to the perpetuation and evolution
of tobacco cultivation, curing, and trade. By law, be-
fore the American Revolution, only England could
manufacture plug, snuff, cigars, and pipe tobacco.
After gaining independence, Americans were free to
manufacture these more profitable tobacco products,
especially pipe and chewing tobaccos, which in addi-
tion to capturing the domestic market, became in-
creasingly popular in Europe.

  In North Carolina, tobacco became even more
attractive because of an accident that changed the
product. In 1839, a slave fell asleep while curing
Bright tobacco. He awoke in time to see the embers
dying and threw more charcoal on the fire to revive it,
not realizing that the sudden heat would alter the
process. What emerged was a brilliant yellow tobacco
with a sweet, pleasant taste. This new curing method
produced a slightly acidic tobacco unlike the more
alkaline old Bright. The new tobacco was quickly
adapted for use as a wrapper for many kinds of plug,
which increased the popularity of this form of tobacco.
The Bureau of the Census called this alteration "one of
the most abnormal developments in agriculture that
the world has ever known" (Sobell978, p. 16).

  Cigar leaf was grown throughout the Caribbean,
the first significant center for export of cigars to Amer-
ica and Europe. Cigars were first introduced in the
United States in the late eighteenth century, and in
1804, more than 4 million Cuban cigars were imported
(Brooks 1952). Cigars were first smoked in the south-
ern colonies, and the practice soon moved north.

  During the American Revolution, cigar manu-
facturing facilities were established in Philadelphia,
Trenton, and New York, which became the centers for
American cigar manufacturing. In 1800, cigar facto-
ries were also built in New Orleans; these factories
produced cigars that resembled Cuban products. In
1810, a Suffield, Connecticut, cigar manufacturer
employed a Cuban cigar roller to teach his craft to
the American workers, and soon small cigar facto-
ries became widespread throughout the Northeast

26 Historical Context