Cigarettes
Cigarettes are a luxury item enjoyed by inhaling their smoke; they are made from tobacco, a plant in the Solanaceae family and Nicotiana genus
Tobacco is an annual herb in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family and Nicotiana genus and is used to make cigarettes. Two species are presently cultivated: Nicotiana tabacum, whose main alkaloid is nicotine, and Nicotiana rustica. Cultivated tobacco consists almost entirely of the former. Other species of tobacco are called wild species. The stalk of the tobacco plant is 1 to 2.5 meters high, and its leaves are elliptical and about 60 centimeters long, growing in an alternate arrangement on the stem.
According to the growing calendar of JT (a Japanese tobacco producer), leaf tobacco is seeded in January, seedlings are transferred to fields in March, the mature plant is harvested in June, harvested tobacco is dried from July, and dried tobacco is shipped to the market in October. In the factory, the tobacco is processed, dried, and ripened, making it ready to be used to manufacture cigarettes. Brand flavoring is then added to the tobacco, which is then made into cigarettes.
Tobacco was first produced in the Americas and today is cultivated throughout the world. In 2014 China was the top producer with 2,995,000 metric tons, followed by Brazil, India, the United States, and Indonesia. Japan produced 20,000 metric tons that year.
Bright-leaf tobacco, which has a sweet taste and is produced primarily in temperate regions, accounts for about 60 percent of world production. Burley tobacco, which has a pleasing aroma and is cultivated in somewhat cooler regions than flue-cured tobacco, accounts for more than 10 percent of world production. Oriental tobacco, which is cultivated in limestone regions with a Mediterranean climate, accounts for less than 10 percent of world production. Domestic and other varieties of tobacco account for the remaining 20 percent.
In Japan, bright-leaf tobacco is cultivated primarily in western Japan, Burley tobacco is primarily cultivated in eastern Japan, and domestic or local tobacco is cultivated only in a few areas.
Tobacco is most commonly rolled in paper and smoked as a cigarette. It is also smoked as a rolled cigar or finely cut and smoked in a pipe or kiseru (Japanese pipe). Other ways of consuming tobacco are as snuff, which is powdered tobacco sniffed into the nostrils, and chewing tobacco, which is flavored, pressed tobacco designed for chewing.
It is said that smoking began among the indigenous people of Central America prior to the Christian era. After 1492, when Columbus discovered the New World, the habit of smoking was transmitted to Europe. From there, smoking spread around the world.
Smoking was introduced to Japan in the sixteenth century by the Portuguese. After the start of the Meiji period (1868-1912), tobacco production dramatically increased. The Meiji government levied various taxes on tobacco, eventually instituting in 1904 a government-controlled tobacco monopoly that covered everything from production to sales. In 1949 this monopoly was entrusted to the Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation, which carried out the tobacco business until April 1985, when the public corporation system was abolished. The Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation was then reorganized as a private company, Japan Tobacco, which took over production and sales of tobacco.
Tobacco ingredients harmful to the human body are nicotine and tar. Excessive smoking can cause nicotine poisoning and can lead to lung cancer. In Japan, minors (those under 20) are legally prohibited from smoking. In 1972 Japan followed the example of the United States and started requiring warnings to appear on cigarette packages. Moreover, passive smoking (the exposure of nonsmokers to other people's smoke) has led to an increased awareness of antismoking rights.
Related People, Things and Events
Books
Related Works
Smoke pipes in theatrical plays
Tobacco manufacturing
Pipes, tobacco cases, etc.
Tobacco around the world (Source: catalogues of samples and materials at the National Museum of Ethnology)
Videos
Past Exhibitions
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External Links
東京都墨田区横川に所在。専売品であった「たばこ」と「塩」の歴史と文化をテーマとする博物館で、昭和53年(1978)11月に日本専売公社(現在の日本たばこ産業株式会社)によって渋谷の公園通りに開館。平成27年(2015)4月に現在地に移転しました。
徳島県観光協会が運営するサイト「阿波ナビ」より。たばこ資料館は徳島県三好市池田町に所在。池田は、幕末から明治にかけて刻み煙草で栄えました。たばこ資料館には、年代順の帳簿やタバコの葉、機械などの資料約200点を展示されています。
たばこと塩の博物館HPより。ここでは、「たばこ文化のふるさと」「たばこ文化の伝播」「たばこ文化の広がり」「江戸時代のたばこ文化」「明治以降のたばこ文化」「トピックス」の各項目で、たばこの歴史と文化を紹介している。
JTウェブサイトより。ここでは、たばこの歴史・文化を「日本の歴史」「世界の歴史」および「ことわざ&川柳」「浮世絵」「歌舞伎」「落語」などの項目で紹介している。
東京都墨田区横網に所在。トップページの「目的別利用案内」から「収蔵品検索」をクリックし、キーワードに「煙草」「たばこ」「タバコ」などと入力して収蔵品を探すことができる。
References
- ジョーダン・グッドマン 著,和田光弘 [ほか]訳,平凡社
- 上野堅實 著,大修館書店
- 「タバコ(煙草)」の項
- 「タバコ」の項
- 「タバコ【煙草】」の項
- 「タバコ【煙草・烟草・莨】」の項
- サンプルページ「受動喫煙」の項
- 「ひとのときを、想う。JT」より。