THE HISTORY OF TOBACCO IN NORTH CAROLINA AND A TIMELINE OF TOBACCO MILESTONES

The Beginning When settlers first migrated from Virginia to North Carolina, they did not know what to farm due to NC’s dry, sandy soil.

The Decision  NC settlers thought they could make lots of money growing and selling tobacco to England.  In England tobacco was very popular, and Londoners only purchased tobacco from Spain.

The Outcome  Growing tobacco, however, proved to be troublesome, and the quality of the first crop of NC tobacco was poor.  So how did NC overcome this initial failure and start to dominate the tobacco market? How did NC’s tobacco empire come to an end?

The following timeline tells the story of the early colonies, their discovery of tobacco, and the eventual wealth and power tobacco brought to North Carolina.

1586-England’s Discovery of Tobacco  After failing to establish a successful colony on Roanoke Island; Sir Francis Drake and colonist return to England.  They presented gifts to Sir Walter Raleigh; one of the gifts was dried tobacco leaves and tobacco seeds from the colony.  Colonist learned how to farm tobacco from Native Americans.  Sir Walter Raleigh plants and cultivates these seeds and sell them to farmers in England.  The English like NC tobacco better than Spanish tobacco. Sir Walter Raleigh

1590-The Profit of Tobacco  During the 1590s, tobacco was rare and expensive.  The cost of tobacco was as high as $125 a pound for the best and over $15 for cheaper types.

1655-The Migration  Colonist from Virginia begin traveling south to start a colony, since Virginia was becoming crowded (Population of 22,000).

1663-The Carolinas  King Charles II send colonist to explore the land between Virginia and Florida.  These explorers are called The Lords Proprietors of Carolina.  The new land is named Carolina.  Virginia colonist bring their tobacco farms to the Carolina.

1672-Tobacco NOT Money  Tobacco takes the place of currency to pay for services from clergymen, educations, officials and soldiers.

1715-Carolina Growing  Carolina is growing slowly and has only 3 towns with enough people to give them representation in the Assembly.

1773-Tobacco Shops  A Moravian in Old Salem, Matthew Miksch, opens a tobacco shop and sells cured, rolled tobacco leaves for smoking or snuff.

1776-Tobacco War  The British wage a “Tobacco War” against Virginia, destroying millions of pounds of tobacco.  The reduction of the Virginia supply of tobacco opened the market for North Carolina.

1858-Durham, NC  A small tobacco factory opens in Durham, NC, around which the entire town grows. Original Durham Tobacco Factory; Present Day

1880-Tobacco’s Growth  126 tobacco factories in NC  6.5 million pounds of chewing tobacco and 4 million pounds of smoking tobacco is produced in one year, worth$2.3 million.  Tobacco factories rolled 2,347,207 cigarettes.

1895-Market Domination  NC tobacco harvests exceed 100 million pounds. The market is dominated by only a few, with little competition.

1899-The Tobacco Trust  The world’s largest tobacco corporation is formed, with its corporate headquarters in Durham.  The corporation is called the Tobacco Trust. Pictures from Duke Homestead Tobacco Farm in Durham, NC

1930- Tobacco Bad???  The American Medical Association begins publishing studies linking cigarette smoking to health problems.

1964-Tobacco and Health  The First Surgeon General’s report links smoking to lung cancer. Healthy LungSmoker’s Lung

1965-Surgeon General’s Warning  The Surgeon General’s warning is mandatory on cigarette packs.

1971-Banning of Tobacco Ads  Federal government bans cigarette advertising on television and radio.

1990-Smoke Free Flights  Airlines no longer allow passengers to smoke on flights that are six hours or less.

1992-The Patch  CESSATION: Nicotine patch is introduced.

1996-Pressure on the Farmers  Quotas are established for tobacco growers of the amount of flue-cured tobacco they can grow.

2001-More Pressure  In December, the State legislature revisits the subject of tobacco quotas and decides to increase them.

September 2002-Not on my court!!  The NBA does the right thing by dropping Lorillard Tobacco as a sponsor for their “Hoop-It-Up” basketball tour.

April-June 2003: Toxic Litter  Cigarettes butts are toxic litter in the ocean.  Cigarettes are made of plastic NOT cotton and paper AND they contain chemicals that can kill some animals in the ocean.

July 2003-June 2004: Not So Kool  Six high school students challenged the legality of tobacco advertising in the student editions of national news magazines—and won.

2005-Peter Jennings  ABC News anchor Peter Jennings dies of lung cancer, sparking a renewed interest in the disease and its link to smoking.

2007-Tobacco Free Is The Way To Be  All NC schools are mandated to be 100% tobacco free.

You Write the Rest…  Where do you think we’ll go from here?  Think about some new products being introduced into the market…  Snus (no spitting required)  Flavored cigarettes  Lotions, listerine strip style products, etc.  What are some of the health consequences of these new products?