TOBACCO AND HEALTH IN THE USA

Running Head : Tobacco and Health

Tobacco and Health in the United States of America

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Tobacco is a member of the Solanacea family . Its history spans almost all cultures in the world as many cultures had long discovered its psychotropic properties . In fact , if an in depth analysis of the history of tobacco is succinctly analyzed , it can be conclusively surmised that tobacco is nothing short of an anthropological and cultural artifact Tobacco use has been in the mainstream American society ever since

the beginning of America as a nation . Since its had acquired a key space in the social fabric of both the urban and rural communities , it is only recently that the general public has accepted its drug connotation

From the 1940s , 50s into the 70s a barrage of scientific research presentations began warning the general populace of the medical and social hazards of tobacco use but even these distinguished scientific personalities were reluctant to call tobacco an addictive drug , they instead referred to it as a habituating substance . This represents the initial reluctance to refer to tobacco as a drug as the term was bound to conjure up salient images of repugnance and loathsomeness . Later tobacco was labeled as a drug as it met all the requirements for that pharmacological . Apart from its addictive effect it had chemical substances that not only altered internal physiological functions . Sufficient exposure was predisposed the user to devastating health effects as well as predisposing one...