CIGARETTES

The popularisation of cigarettes in Britain was in part the result of overseas military ventures. Until the Crimean War of 1854-6 smoking cigarettes had been something that only the very poor did. The habit jumped up the social scale as a result of British officers socialising with their Turkish counterparts, who were given to smoking tabs. Subsequently, well-off people bought hand-made cigarettes, while the poor crafted their own. The writer, diplomat, and mystic Laurence Oliphant M.P. (1829-1888) was the first person to smoke cigarettes in the street in Britain. In early 1880s cigarette-making machines started to be used by some manufacturers. Prior to the First World War many ordinary Britons were still pipe smokers. However, troops in that conflict appreciated the convenience of cigarettes and thereby led a permanent change in British social patterns that left pipe smoking as a marginal means of consuming tobacco.

Action On Smoking & Health

Action On Smoking & Health (A.S.H.) is an anti-smoking organisation. It was founded in 1971.

Location: Unit 2.9, The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, SE11 5RR

Website: https://ash.org.uk

Disposing of Stubs

The serial killer Dennis Nilsen sought disposed of his victims bodies by cutting them up and flushing them down his lavatory. However, eventually his a clogged up and began to reek badly. His neighbours called upon environmental health officers to investigate what the problem was. They did so, were concerned about what they found, and called in the police. As a result, Nilsen was convicted of murder.

During an interview with some police officers Nilsen smoked a cigarette. When he had finished it, he became aware that there was no ashtray in which he could stub it out. He asked the officers what he should do. One of them advised him to flush it down the toilet. He replied that The last time I did that I got into trouble.

Location: 23d Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill, N10 3AA

Operation Berkshire

Operation Berkshire was a covert campaign to blur the links between cigarette smoke and health problems such as cancer and heart disease. It was initiated after Tony Garrett (1918-2017), the Chairman of Imperial Tobacco, contacted Hugh Cullman, his counterpart at Philip Morris. A meeting was convened at Shockerwick House, an Imperial training facility in Somerset. This was attended by representatives of British-American Tobacco, R.J. Reynolds, and Rothmans. At it the representatives of the three British company acknowledged that smoking often caused. The Americans were more circumspect. It led to the setting up of International Committee On Smoking Issues (later the International Tobacco Information Centre). In 2000 the British Medical Journal revealed that the Shockerwick summit had been held.

David Backhouse 2024