Smoking in China: from 'herb that makes you forget your worries'
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| Picture of a Chinese family eating together in the eighteenth century. The mother is inhaling from the pipe. | Photo: Getty Images |
In the sixteenth century, Europeans became acquainted with tobacco in the 'New World'. Then the smoke spread all over the world through them.
Cigarettes and smoking products are now available almost everywhere in the world, even in Antarctica. Nowadays, tobacco leaves are not dried and smoked like before.
In today's world smoking is done in many ways — cigarettes, vapors, mods. Now even the 'electric nicotine delivery system' has come for smoking.
In this new method, supporters of smoking claim that it causes less harm than traditional smoking and helps smokers quit smoking. The opposition has dismissed the claim. They believe it is the new move of tobacco companies to make the youth generation addicted to nicotine.
Tobacco arrived in China during the Jiangxi period of the Ming Dynasty (1522-1566). Tobacco went to the country from the Philippines. At that time, the Philippines was a colony of Spain.
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An anti-tobacco campaign in Suzhou, China |
It was the Spanish who brought tobacco to the country. Within decades, China's tobacco cultivation surpassed the Philippines. Chinese tobacco was then exported to Spanish colonies.
Smoking soon became very popular in China. Partly because of this popularity, the Chinese believed that tobacco was beneficial for health. Women and children also started smoking.
In addition to stimulating and relaxing the body, many believed that tobacco could cure some diseases like cold and fever. In a 17th-century medical book, it is written that 'this herb helps to relieve anxiety. '
Smoking soon became very popular in China. Partly because of this popularity, the Chinese believed that tobacco was beneficial for health. Women and children also start smoking. In addition to stimulating and relaxing the body, many believed that tobacco could cure some diseases like cold and fever. In a 17th-century medical book, tobacco is written, 'This herb helps to relieve anxiety. '
So naturally, the tobacco business became a very lucrative trade. Around the time tobacco cultivation started in Europe, a large quantity of tobacco was being cultivated in an area of China's Shandong province.
400 workers were engaged in tobacco cultivation in the area. The annual income by selling tobacco in the area was 75 tons of silver.
Soon, however, the adverse reaction to tobacco use in China became known. Some books on medicine and horticulture written in the late 17th century warn of adverse reactions to the inhaling of 'toxic cannabis'.
According to those books, smoking cannabis causes the body to become dehydrated, burning lungs. As a result, the smoker coughs up a sore throat—even the voice is damaged.
Smoking also adversely affects the healing capacity of medicines. Those who smoke regularly have a shorter life expectancy.
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| An image of a Chinese smoker in the 19th century |
The first ban on smoking in China was imposed by Emperor Chongzhen, the last ruler of the Ming dynasty. He imposed the ban in 1639, the 12th year of his rule.
He is said to have banned children from smoking after hearing a rhyme. The rhyme said that the smoke of the rebels smoke was billowing over an empire.
Then the Qin dynasty and subsequent rulers tried to ban smoking. The punishment for breaking the ban was terrible. From hefty fines to whips, even beheadings were done by many. But despite the ban, smoking could not be stopped in China.
Currently, China has more than 300 million smokers, more than twenty percent of the country's total population. This number is increasing. One-third of the world's total smokers are Chinese. Health experts in the country fear that the bad practice could cause major damage to China.
Desk report. 2021-09-18
Source: South China Morning Post