Behind the Bastards CZM Rewind: Part One: How Cigarettes Invented Everything
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Jan 6, 2026 Robert Evans chats with James Stout, a British commentator and expert on tobacco history. They explore how cigarettes shaped modern life and business, starting from ancient tobacco rituals among Indigenous peoples to Columbus's first encounter with it. Stout discusses the low-status origins of cigarettes and how they transformed into a mass consumer product through innovative marketing strategies pioneered by James Duke. The episode dives into the substantial impacts of tobacco on health and consumer culture, revealing the complex legacy of cigarettes.
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Cigarettes Created Modern Consumer Tools
- Cigarettes forced industries to invent modern mass-consumer techniques like national advertising and collectibles.
- Robert Evans argues tobacco marketing effectively created key features of modern consumer culture.
Columbus Meets Tobacco
- Christopher Columbus first encountered tobacco on Hispaniola and learned to smoke by watching natives use nose pipes and wrapped leaves.
- James Stout and Robert Evans describe early native rituals and primitive cigarette forms observed by Columbus.
Tobacco Was A Ritual Medicine
- Indigenous tobacco often served ritual and medicinal roles and could be a potent psychotropic in high doses.
- Robert Evans notes tobacco was used as insect repellent, tranquilizer, and in ceremonial practices.
