Smoking is a recreational
activity in which a substance, most commonly tobacco, is burned
and the smoke tasted or inhaled. This is primarily done as a
form of recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active
substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them available
for absorption through the lungs. It can also be done as a part
of religious or non-religious rituals, to induce trances and
spiritual enlightenment. The most common method of smoking today
is through cigarettes, either industrially manufactured or
rolled with loose tobacco and a rolling paper. Other forms,
though not as common are pipes, cigars, bongs and hookahs.
Smoking is one of the most common forms of recreational drug
use. Tobacco smoking is today by far the most popular form of
smoking and is practiced by over one billion people in the
majority of all human societies. Less common drugs for smoking
include cannabis and opium. Most drugs that are smoked are
considered to be addictive. Some of the substances are
classified as hard narcotics, like heroin and crack cocaine, but
the use of these is usually limited to socially marginalized
groups.
The history of smoking can be dated to as early as 5000 BC, and
has been recorded in many different cultures across the world.
Tobacco has been cultivated and smoked in the Americas for at
least 5000 years, originating in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian
Andes. The smoking of cannabis in India has been practiced
for over 4000 years. Early smoking evolved in association
with religious ceremonies; as offerings to deities, in cleansing
rituals or to allow shamans and priests to alter their minds for
purposes of divination or spiritual enlightenment. After the
European exploration and conquest of the Americas, the practice
of smoking tobacco quickly spread to the rest of the world. In
regions like India and Subsaharan Africa, it merged with
existing practices of smoking (mostly of cannabis). In Europe,
it introduced a new type of social activity and a form of drug
intake which previously had been unknown.
The cultural perception surrounding smoking has varied over time
and from one place to another; holy and sinful, sophisticated
and vulgar, a panacea and deadly health hazard. Only recently,
and primarily in industrialized Western countries, has smoking
come to be viewed in a decidedly negative light. Today medical
studies have proven that smoking is among the leading causes of
diseases such as lung cancer, heart attacks and emphysema, and
can also lead to birth defects. The well-proven health hazards
of smoking have caused many countries to institute high taxes on
tobacco products and anti-smoking campaigns are launched every
year in an attempt to curb smoking. Several countries, states
and cities have also imposed smoking bans in most public places.
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History
1. The tobacco revolution
2. Europe
3. The Middle East
4. East Asia
5. South Asia
6. Sub-Saharan Africa
7. Opium smoking
8. The social stigma
Physiology
1. Smoking substances
Smoking
tools and paraphernalia
Social effects
1. Public health and
crime
Smoking in culture
1. Art
2. Film
3. Literature
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