The Social History of Smoking

This volume traces how smoking moved from a rare curiosity to a widespread social habit in England. By charting the rise of the clay pipe in the early seventeenth century, its gradual decline in the late 1600s, and the later resurgence of cigars and cigarettes, the author shows how fashion, class, and etiquette shaped each shift. The narrative stays firmly on public attitudes, revealing how a once‑fashionable pastime fell out of favor before being revived in the nineteenth century, ultimately becoming a near‑universal practice.

The author weaves social commentary with vivid details—from early medicinal herb inhalations to the colorful disputes over who first puffed a tobacco pipe in London. Drawing on contemporary letters, court records, and period illustrations, the book illuminates everyday customs, gendered expectations, and the moral debates that surrounded each new form of tobacco. Readers gain a clear picture of how a simple habit reflected broader changes in English society, making the history both scholarly and surprisingly personable.