Tobacco: Opposing Viewpoints

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late eighteen hundreds. Although the U.S. was not the first country to use cigarettes, in eighteen eighty three American James Bonsack developed a cigarette rolling machine. Where a skilled cigarette roller could roll about four hundred cigarettes per day, the cigarette machine could produce one hundred and twenty thousand. Mass production also caused the price of a pack of cigarettes to be cut in half.
With a “smoking epidemic” on our hands, it was only a matter of time before an anti-smoking movement erupted. Concerned citizens pressured for anti-smoking laws. Many states adopted strict policies, some less strict. In Wisconsin and Nebraska, possession of tobacco was illegal. All states banned the sale of tobacco to children.
Despite the prohibitions placed on tobacco in the eighteen nineties, by the first World War, negativity towards tobacco began to fade. The lack of scientific evidence that smoking was harmful at the beginning of the century, and the war effort increased the ...

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started out as a popular idea, but ended in much public resentment. Not only was prohibition a failure, but it made matters worse. It made criminals out of law abiding citizens. It brought large amounts of cash out of our economic flow and into illegal markets. It did not cause consumption of alcohol to decrease. It increased consumption, disrespect for the law, and law enforcement corruption. What prohibition is most famous for is giving rise to organized crime. During alcohol prohibition there were many gangs and “crime families” distributing liquor to make money. Big money. Many of the gang members became filthy rich from the high demand for alcohol. These gangsters, many affiliated ...

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