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The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.4767970973
EAN: 9780465070473
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0465070477
Label: Basic Books
Manufacturer: Basic Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 640
Publication Date: March 12, 2007
Publisher: Basic Books
Studio: Basic Books
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Editorial Review:
The invention of mass marketing led to cigarettes being emblazoned in advertising and film, deeply tied to modern notions of glamour and sex appeal. It is hard to find a photo of Humphrey Bogart or Lauren Bacall without a cigarette. No product has been so heavily promoted or has become so deeply entrenched in American consciousness.And no product has received such sustained scientific scrutiny. The development of new medical knowledge demonstrating the dire harms of smoking ultimately shaped the evolution of evidence-based medicine. In response, the tobacco industry engineered a campaign of scientific disinformation seeking to delay, disrupt, and suppress these studies. Using a massive archive of previously secret documents, historian Allan Brandt shows how the industry pioneered these campaigns, particularly using special interest lobbying and largesse to elude regulation.But even as the cultural dominance of the cigarette has waned and consumption has fallen dramatically in the U.S., Big Tobacco remains securely positioned to expand into new global markets. The implications for the future are vast: 100 million people died of smoking-related diseases in the 20th century; in the next 100 years, we expect 1 billion deaths worldwide.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - For smokers
I'd recommend this book to smokers like me out there. You'd learn that we (smokers) are the only ones getting pissed on in the end - cigarette companies continue to make money, everyone else gets road fixed, schools financed, etc. with the hiked cigarette tax that the smokers pay. Yes, suckers. And I'm not even bringing in lung cancer (we die off quicker so probably lower the medical care cost burden on the whole).
It also provides insight into the development of the US ad/marketing ... Read More
Rating:  - Excellent and Thorough survey
Fantastic job of tracing the roots of the cigarette industry to its "high water" mark in the 1950s, and then a thorough explanation of how it managed to survive and even thrive in some respects in the past fifty years. You can guess the author's opinion, but it is an opinion he came to after a complete survey of the evidence, which is as human beings what we should aspire to, eh? Appropriate use of numbers/statistics - does not get bogged down by overloading the book with charts and causal equations. ... Read More
Rating: - An Ominous Precursor
Given the size of the book, I was sure I was going to be perusing it only. However, the similarity to what I have seen with the wireless industry made me go back and read it in detail...disturbingly familiar detail. Read this to get a preview of its inevitable sequel...The Cell Phone Century.
Rating: - death by smoking
This is the story of how smoking, once a socially acceptable, pleasurable behavior, became a disgusting habit for the smoker, a danger to non-smokers, a crime for cigarette makers and a financial windfall for some smokers, lawyers, and state governments. The book is well written, well documented and very readable but we know where the author stands. He tells us that 400,000 or 500,000 people are "killed" every year from smoking. Death by gunshot is instant and violent. This happens to about 30,000 people ... Read More
Rating: - Completely unbiased masterpiece! Five stars
This book provided a completely unbiased look at this demon weed that has been plaguing this evil nation from its advent! Tobacco! This may seem strange to hear a liberal bashing a narcotic and crying for it to be made illegal, especially since they are so desperately pushing for legalization of marijuana, the products evil twin, but trust me it all makes sense when Mr. Brandt breaks it down for us.
Brandt begins with the first use of tobacco by our pilgrim ancestors. Brandt informs us that they ... Read More
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