Smoking Through the Ages
Smoking, practiced in one form or another has been part of many human cultures since ancient times. Tobacco and various other hallucinogenic drugs were being used in the Americas in shamanistic and religious rituals as early as 5000 BC. Many ancient civilizations like the Babylonians, the Romans, the Chinese and the Indians, burnt incense as part of religious rituals and practices. Later with the emergence of Christianity the Catholic and the Orthodox churches continued using incense. In Classical Greece the smoke of various herbs was used for healing practices and the Oracle of Delphi made prophecies while being intoxicated by inhaling natural gases emitted from a bore hole.
Originally one of the plants that were predominantly used for smoking throughout Eurasia was cannabis. Evidence of inhalation of cannabis smoke was found in a burial site from 3000 BC in Romania. This was indicated by charred cannabis seeds and a ritual brazier. Cannabis leafs have been found in the tomb of shaman in China which was dated to roughly the same time period.
For a time with the coming of the dark ages this culture subsided, at least in Europe. But with the discovery of the New World and the contact with tobacco smoking become more common in its recreational and social use.
The English and the Dutch were trading mainly with Northern America. Because North American tribes used pipes for smoking the practice was adopted by the two European powers and from them spread to Northern Europe. The Spaniards and the Portuguese from the other hand had more contact with the Central and South American cultures, where the predominant way of smoking was by the means of cigarettes. As result cigarette smoking gained huge popularity in southern Europe and the Islamic World.
It wasn’t until 1881 when the craftsman James Bonsack patented a machine to partially automate the manufacturing of cigarettes, that they really became the major way of smoking tobacco in the World.
But soon after the turn of the century there were various medical studies that connected smoking with lung cancer. With the pressure rising and more and more conclusive results in medical studies pointing to the health risks connected with smoking cigarettes, a new outlet for a safer way of smoking was created: water vapor cigarettes. Considered healthier and less hazardous for human health many people have turned to them and there is a constantly growing number of people who buy electronic cigarettes.