ABSTRACT
In 1604, King James I published his Counterblaste to Tobacco, one of the first and most strident condemnations o f ‘This Filthy Custom’:
Like one of his successors, King James was very clearly not amused. Tobacco can be taken as snuff or it can be chewed; it can be smoked in pipes, as cigars or as cigarettes. Each of these forms has been popular at one time or another, but during the 20th century one increasingly established its supremacy over the others: cigarette smoking. For the Western world, the discovery of tobacco can be directly traced to Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World in 1492. Columbus himself was far too preoccupied by his lust for gold to take much notice of the curious customs of the natives, and it was not until later voyages that the smoking of tobacco was given any real consideration. At first, the Spanish sailors found it an unpleasant experience, but they soon became enthusiastic smokers themselves.
