Effects of Smoking Cigarettes Essay -- Nicotine Cigarettes Tobacco

The History of Tobacco In 3000 B.C the Ancient Egyptians burnt sweet herbs and frankincense when sacrificing to their gods. This was the beginning of smoking. Then in the beginning of the Christian era smoke was inhaled through the burning fur of a hare, the diagnoses for epilepsy was the inhalation of smoke from a goat's horn and for consumption, smoke inhaled through a reed of dried dung of an ox. Somewhere in the United States was believed to be the birthplace of tobacco, a plant of the genus Nicotiana. How and when it was discovered is unknown (Huron Indian myth has it that in ancient times, when the land was barren and the people were starving, the Great Spirit sent forth a woman to save humanity. As she travelled over the world, everywhere her right hand touched the soil, there grew potatoes. And everywhere her left hand touched the soil, there grew corn. And when the world was rich and fertile, she sat down and rested. When she arose, there grew tobacco). What is certain is that tobacco smoking was practised among the early Mayas, probably in the district of Tabasco, Mexico, as part of their religious ceremonies. The Mayans had no paper to wrap their tobacco in so they wrapped it in palm leaves or cornhusks, and stuffed it into reeds or bamboo. On the other hand they also smoked rolled tobacco leaves as crude cigars. Indians further north made pipes, some with a bowl and mouthpiece, others shaped like a Y, and placed the forked ends into their nostrils. They also blended their tobacco with other herbs and plants to vary the flavour. In South America, the Aztecs smoked and took snuff. Elsewhere in the American continent, tobacco was chewed, eaten, drunk as an in... ...f cigarettes a day. If you want to find out how much an average smoker pays for cigarettes per annum you do this: ÂÂ £4.33 (a packet of cigarettes) ÂÂ ´ 7 (days per week) = ÂÂ £ 30.31 (amount paid for cigarettes a week) ÂÂ £ 30.31 (amount paid for cigarettes a week) ÂÂ ´ 52 (weeks per year) = ÂÂ £1576.12 (amount paid for cigarettes a year) So an average smoker pays approximately ÂÂ £1576.12 a year, so if you take up smoking you are more than likely to spend more than ÂÂ £1500 a year in cigarettes. In the U.K the price of a pack of 20 premium brand cigarettes currently costs ÂÂ £4.33, of which ÂÂ £3.45 (80%) is tax. Thus out of the ÂÂ £1576.12 spent a year by a smoker 80% is taken by the Government, which is ÂÂ £1260.90. This is the main reason why the Government doesn?t ban smoking, because they are making ÂÂ £1260.90 per smoker per year in the U.K.