The Symbolic Cigarette

Through the last couple of centuries, the cigarette has evolved its meaning and place in society. It is believed that the first paper rolled cigarettes were made by Egyptian soldiers fighting the Turkish-Egyptian war, which took place in the mid 1800’s. These cigarettes were hand rolled and individually made. This way of making cigarettes continued until 1881, when a man named James A. Bonsack invented and patented a cigarette-making machine. Prior to these invention cigarettes were often sold for 1 cent a piece. Tobacco, the main ingredient of cigarettes, was used as currency in the 1600's when some colonists paid for their wives passages to the New World with 120 pounds of tobacco. There have been many variations of the cigarette between 1881 and the modern cigarette. The cigarette has evolved from the ultimate symbol of cool, to in modern times something seen by many as a senseless death machine, that provides little other than an addiction, in return for serious health problems and a major financial burden.
An individual cigarette can look as harmless as anything else in this world. It is a small cylindrical mixture of different ingredients, comprises of more than 90% tobacco, and then rolled in a special paper of white color and attached to a filter in most cases. Some of the other items put into cigarettes are sugar, which is addicting when inhaled and ammonia, which increases the nicotine absorbed by the body. Ingredients such as licorice and chocolate are added, which have never been approved to be inhaled, and when burned allow the lungs to breathe deeper enhancing the nicotine intake. A cigarette weights about 1.136 grams, is about 4 inches long, and about half a centimeter in diameter. This small item has had a tremendous impact on American society.
Many people who smoke, fueled by their nicotine addiction, describe the feeling of smoking as relief and comfort. Those individuals who go too long without smoking often get feelings of anxiety, paranoia, irritability, and have erratic mood swings. A majority of non-smokers are appalled by the smell and irritability to their lungs. The past two decades have brought the negative health consequences onto center stage for smokers and those who get second-hand smoke. Seeing someone smoking from the 50’s until about the 90’s was a very “cool” image and now can bring a wide range of opinions depending on the thoughts of the viewer.
The cigarette as a symbol in American culture as transformed from sexy to deadly and until recently few steps have been made to address this problem. Recent steps of raising taxes on cigarettes and eliminating them from public places including bars and restaurants has made great strides. In the future with growing health concerns smoking may eventually be phased out unless drastic improvements are made in their affects on people’s health. If not I will change my artifact to a coffin next year for over 5 million people who by this time next year will be dead from smoking.