Tobacco in Latin America deals with the cultivation of tobacco, the tobacco industry (especially cigars and cigarattes), smoking behavior, and efforts to control smoking.
Tobacco cultivation has a long history in Latin America, dating back to before colonization. The earliest evidence comes from a site in modern El Salvador in 500 AD. Tobacco was cultivated throughout most of Latin America prior to colonization, during the colonial period (1500-1800), and in the postcolonial period (from 1800 onward). Tobacco had been grown by pre-Columbian peoples in the Americas for centuries before 1492. Christopher Columbus in his journal described how indigenous people used tobacco by lighting dried herbs wrapped in a leaf and inhaling the smoke. [1] Tobacco, derived from the Taino word "tabaco," was used in medicine and in religious rituals. The Taino people utilized dried tobacco leaves, which they smoked using pipes and cigars. Alternatively, they finely crushed the leaves and inhaled them through a hollow tube. The natives employed uncomplicated yet efficient tools for planting and caring for their crops. Their primary tool was a planting stick, referred to as a "coa" among the Taino, which measured around five feet in length and featured a sharp point that had been hardened through fire. [2] [3]
The Spaniards quickly realized that tobacco use was widespread among the indigenous communities they encountered throughout the Americas and began to imitate the practice. Before Columbus, tobacco was unknown in Europe. However, after its discovery, tobacco imported from Spanish Latin America became a lucrative and heavily traded commodity, supporting the popular habit of smoking. The arrival of Europeans and the introduction of tobacco played a significant role in colonization and the introduction of African slave labor. [4]
At first small-scale farming of tobacco occurred in Cuba, Honduras, Ecuador, Argentina, and Colombia. Commercial tobacco farming began in the late eighteenth century and became an important component of the economy in countries like Mexico, Colombia, and Cuba. To maintain control over commercial tobacco production, the Spanish Crown designated specific zones for tobacco farming and established tobacco monopolies in larger countries. In 1717, the Spanish Crown established a monopoly over Cuban tobacco production, which made enormous profits from processing and selling the Cuban leaf. From 1740 to 1760, about 85 percent of the tobacco processed by the royal factory in Seville came from Cuba, and this monopoly produced annual profits that grew from nearly 4 million pesos in the early 1740s to over 5 million by the late 1750s, and exceeded the profit from silver. Tobacco played a role in the illegal trade that flourished in remote parts of the Spanish Empire in the eighteenth century, undermining Spanish colonialism. [5] In 1740, a contract was granted by the Spanish Crown to a consortium of merchants who formed the Havana Company. The company tried to reduce the output of tobacco leaves in order to eliminate illicit sales. It acquired an exclusive right to buy and export three million pounds of premium Cuban tobacco to Spain. The tobacco was then processed at the royal factory in Seville. In the Portuguese colony of Brazil, tobacco was primarily cultivated in Bahia. It was legally exported to Portugal, while also being illicitly sent to Buenos Aires and Upper Peru. Brazilian tobacco enabled was exchanged for slaves in West Africa. [6] [7]
According to Burkholder and Johnson: [8]
The creation of state-run tobacco monopolies also had dramatic and unforeseen consequences in the peripheral colonies....The monopolies limited legal tobacco production, set prices, processed and manufactured tobacco products, and controlled retail sales. Even though consumer demand in the colonies and in Europe pushed upward, tobacco growers gained only limited benefits. Consumers also found these poor person's luxuries increasingly expensive. The Crown, however, earned heady profits. Because the monopoly paid cash, the tobacco-producing regions of Venezuela, New Granada, and especially Paraguay were able to develop new commercial relations with regional and even international markets. As cash replaced barter, the largest urban centers established more effective domination over the countryside.
After Latin American independence in the nineteenth century, traders in London, Amsterdam, and the independent Hanseatic towns in northern Germany, became important importers of Latin American tobacco. The markets for cigars and cigarettes in Europe contributed to the rapid expansion of the tobacco trade in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. European traders supported Latin American independence and benefited greatly when the new Latin American republics opened their commercial borders. [9]
In the 20th century, the government promoted settlement and economic development in the northern subtropical zones, with tobacco playing a central role. A new government agency worked to educate farmers and promote the cultivation, processing, and marketing of tobacco. While tobacco factories were initially concentrated around Buenos Aires, they gradually extended into the northern production regions. By 1960, Argentina accomplished self-sufficiency in tobacco production. By the 1970s, its annual output exceeded 60,000 metric tons, with one-third exported. Argentina held the global rank of third place in terms of production, trailing behind Brazil and Mexico. [10]
Smoking in Argentina accounts for 15% of total tobacco consumption in the Americas. There are a number of smoking restrictions in place in different jurisdictions, and a nationwide governmental campaign against tobacco smoking and advertising. Since June 1, 2011 a smoking ban in all of Argentina prohibits smoking in workplaces, all public indoor areas, schools, hospitals, museums and libraries, theatres, and all public transport. [11]
In 2006, the prevalence of current tobacco use was 32% (35% among men, 29% among women). Approximately 90% of the population who smoked did so on a daily basis, and 30% smoked an average of 20 cigarettes per day. [12] [13] T Tobacco causes 40,000 deaths per year, 6,000 due to secondhand smoke. The cost of the treatment of tobacco-related diseases amounts to 6020 million Argentine pesos ($1324 million USD) per year, 15.5% of the total public expenditure on health care. The government collects 3500 million pesos per year in taxes on cigarettes.
Latin America a cultural concept denoting American continent where Romance languages—languages derived from Latin —are predominant. The term was coined in France in the mid-19th century to refer to regions in the Americas that were ruled by the Spanish, Portuguese, and French empires. The term does not have a precise definition, but it is "commonly used to describe South America, Central America, Mexico, and the islands of the Caribbean." In a narrow sense, it refers to Spanish America and Brazil. The term "Latin America" is broader than categories such as Hispanic America, which specifically refers to Spanish-speaking countries; and Ibero-America, a term not generally used that specifically refers to both Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries while leaving French and British excolonies aside.
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chief commercial crop is N. tabacum. The more potent variant N. rustica is also used in some countries.
A cigar is a Tobacco product. It is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder leaf which holds the filler together, and a wrapper leaf, which is often the highest quality leaf used. Often there will be a cigar band printed with the cigar manufacturer's logo. Modern cigars can come with two or more bands, especially Cuban cigars, showing Limited Edition bands displaying the year of production.
A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opposite end. Cigarette smoking is the most common method of tobacco consumption. The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette, but the word is sometimes used to refer to other substances, such as a cannabis cigarette or an herbal cigarette. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its usually smaller size, use of processed leaf, and paper wrapping, which is typically white. Since the 1920s, cigarettes have been a major source of advertising revenue for the media, of traffic for small stores, and of tax revenue for governments.
Cuban cigars are cigars manufactured in Cuba from tobacco grown within that island nation. Historically regarded as among the world's “finest”, they are synonymous with the island's culture and contribute nearly one quarter of the value of all exports from the country.
Cohiba is a brand for two kinds of premium cigar, one produced in Cuba for Habanos S.A., the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in the Dominican Republic for US-based General Cigar Company. The name cohíba derives from the Taíno word for "tobacco".
The Bourbon Reforms consisted of political and economic changes promulgated by the Spanish Crown under various kings of the House of Bourbon, since 1700, mainly in the 18th century. The beginning of the new Crown's power with clear lines of authority to officials contrasted to the complex system of government that evolved under the Habsburg monarchs. For example, the crown pursued state predominance over the Catholic Church, pushed economic reforms, and placed power solely into the hands of civil officials.
Altadis is a Spanish-French multinational purveyor and manufacturer of cigarettes, tobacco and cigars. It was formed via a 1999 merger between Tabacalera, the former Spanish tobacco monopoly and SEITA, the former French tobacco monopoly. Through its international holdings, including ownership of the former Consolidated Cigar Holdings and half ownership of the Cuban state tobacco monopoly, Habanos S.A., Altadis was the largest producer of mass market and premium cigars in the world, as well as the fourth largest producer of tobacco products.
Cohiba is a Cuban brand of cigarettes created by Habanos S.A. They are currently manufactured by the Franco-Spanish company Altadis, a subsidiary of Imperial Brands. Since 2003, "Brascuba Cigarrillos" has produced the brand in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Russia.
Habanos S.A. is a Cuban manufacturing company of tobacco that controls the promotion, distribution, and export of premium cigars and other tobacco products for Cuba worldwide. It was established in 1994.
Smoking in Argentina accounts for 15% of total tobacco consumption in the Americas. In the 20th century, the government promoted settlement and economic development in the northern subtropical zones, with tobacco playing a central role. A new government agency worked to educate farmers and promote the cultivation, processing, and marketing of tobacco. While tobacco factories were initially concentrated around Buenos Aires, they gradually extended into the northern production regions. By 1960, Argentina accomplished self-sufficiency in tobacco production. By the 1970s, its annual output exceeded 60,000 metric tons, with one-third exported. At the local level cooperatives are active, they sell to one of two multinational companies, Nobleza-Picardo, an affiliate of the British American Tobacco company, and Messalin-Particulares, associated with Philip Morris International. Argentina held the global rank of third place in terms of production, trailing behind Brazil and Mexico.
The history of commercial tobacco production in the United States dates back to the 17th century when the first commercial crop was planted. The industry originated in the production of tobacco for British pipes and snuff. See Tobacco in the American colonies. In late 18th century there was an increase in demand for tobacco in the United States, where the demand for tobacco in the form of cigars and chewing tobacco increased. In the late 19th century production shifted to the manufactured cigarette.
This article contains a list of tobacco cultivars and varieties, as well as unique preparations of the tobacco leaf involving particular methods of processing the plant.
Tobacco was long used in the early Americas. The arrival of Spain introduced tobacco to the Europeans, and it became a lucrative, heavily traded commodity to support the popular habit of smoking. Following the Industrial Revolution, cigarettes became hugely popular worldwide. In the mid-20th century, medical research demonstrated severe negative health effects of tobacco smoking including lung and throat cancer, which led to a sharp decline in tobacco use.
Henry Clay is an American brand of cigars named after the early American politician Henry Clay (1777–1852). The cigars are currently manufactured in the Dominican Republic.
Tobacco has a long history in the United States.
Smoking in Italy has been banned in public places including bars, restaurants, discotheques and offices since 2005. A majority of Italians supported the ban at the time it was first implemented, but there was a lack of support from smokers and some bar owners. 5% of bar and restaurant owners immediately introduced separate smoking rooms.
Frank Anthony Llaneza was a tobacco blender and former executive of Villazon & Co. who is regarded as a pioneer in the resurgence of the premium cigar industry at the end of the 20th Century. Llaneza is best known for the creation and manufacture of a number of popular cigar brands in the years after the 1962 Cuban Embargo, including Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, Bolivar, and Siglo.
Smoking in Cuba is prevalent, with a Gallup poll in May 2007 revealing that 45% of Cuban people had smoked on the day before the survey.
Tobacco smoking in the Philippines affects a sizable minority of the population. According to the 2015 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) conducted under the auspices of the Philippines' Department of Health, Philippine Statistics Authority, the World Health Organization, and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23.8 percent of the adult population were "current tobacco smokers". This figures represented 16.6 million of 69 million adult Filipinos.