Why have cigarettes become a global phenomenon, and why is heated tobacco next?
In the Hong Kong film "Zhiming and Chunjiao", people borrow cigarettes and fire from each other to get closer to social distance and share daily gossip.
From a consumer perspective, cigarettes have long become a daily consumer good that can be seen everywhere, and they are also a must-needed product that many people can't get rid of. From an economic perspective, the cigarette industry is also an important fiscal revenue of various cities and even a pillar industry in many countries.
So, how cigarettes, which are only a few hundred years old, have quickly become an inseparable part of the global economy and even 1.1 billion people? I believe many people are very interested in the origin and development of this.
Recently, a UP owner on Station B produced a popular science Short Video about the history of cigarettes, which elaborated on the "mutual understanding" between humans and tobacco and how cigarettes have evolved from playthings of high-level groups in society to mass consumer goods. Maybe you don't know that cigarettes that each person can use in the past were luxury goods that only powerful people could consume. In the old days, Wang Xie Tang and Yan Yan flew into the homes of ordinary people. Wasn't it very interesting?
With the upgrading of consumption and the continuous improvement of quality of life, and people's awareness of health has deepened, e-cigarettes have emerged as the times require. Today, when the dangers of cigarettes are well known but cannot be abandoned, the emergence of e-cigarettes seems to have become a desperate choice for smokers.
In the video, the up owner also gave a detailed introduction to the development history and characteristics of e-cigarettes and compared them with cigarettes. If you are not a smoker, then this popular science video will give you a comprehensive understanding of the past and present lives of cigarettes., allowing you to talk with your friends after a meal. If you are a smoker but not an e-cigarette user, and you want to change your smoking style but are worried about various news such as "e-cigarettes are more harmful than cigarettes" and "e-cigarettes cause cancer", then this video is more worth watching. I believe it will make you rethink e-cigarettes.
The human plant plot Throughout human civilization, plants have always been the most important and perhaps none. From the legendary Shennong tasted tea leaves and chewing tea became popular, to the discovery by South American aborigines that they seemed to be able to communicate through chewing tobacco leaves, humans 'special dependence on plants has become a plot. Or from an ecological perspective, animals 'lives are given by plants. Therefore, humans have been exploring the different effects of various plants. From raw food to boiling to modern chemistry during the Western Industrial Revolution, humans began to become more addicted to plant extracts. The most representative one is refined sugar cane sugar. Extract has made humans fall into sweets.
The origin of tobacco, like all plant dependence, is the fearless American version of Shennong who eats leaves when he has nothing to do, eh, just playing. It turned out that tobacco leaves were particularly lively when chewing, and their faces flushed red as if they had met first love. So the American people chewed the leaves to refresh themselves and seek stimulation. Then some people who were not afraid of death tried to burn the leaves with fire and found that inhaling the smoke produced by the combustion was more exciting. Good! Very energetic!
According to the "General History of the Indians" published in 1535,"the Indians had a hobby of smoking and kept smoking until they lost consciousness and lay on the ground as if drunk."
2
The tobacco epidemic
Because tobacco leaf is a South American crop, Columbus cannot become a world-class consumer product. In 1492, when his fleet arrived at the island of San Salvador, they saw local people smoking a kind of cigarette made of grass, or tobacco, rolled in corn leaves, and then pulled the lead wire to light cigarettes around the world.
Later, as more Western colonists set foot in America, the sailors bullied the indigenous people and did not forget to smooth the tobacco back to Europe. Then, the tobacco was recognized by the European dignitaries. It turned out that the Native Americans were so desperate to die. However, despite the high-ranking European dignitaries, this is only a high-end consumer product that a small number of people smoke.
#p#Pagination Title #e#3
Tobacco has become a high-end consumer productIt's just like hiring spies to steal tea seeds from China and place them in Assam, India, to grow. Western capital naturally wants to domesticate this addictive thing like sugar and alcohol, saying,"Do you think I still have a chance?" Therefore, tobacco was unexpectedly introduced and planted, but at that time, tobacco was difficult to grow, and its production technology was not easy to mass produce, so it was still a small plaything.
Then in the early 17th century, Spain began to wrap tobacco with paper instead of corn husks. This Spanish-style cigarette was also the beginning of cigarette standardization. In 1843, France began to produce Spanish-style cigarettes and was officially named "cigarette" in French.
In 1864, the United States began producing local cigarettes during the Civil War. Then in 1880, James Bonsack designed a cigarette machine, which became the underlying driving force for the popularity of cigarettes around the world. Just as trying to be lazy is the primary productivity of mankind.
4
printing machine
Just like salt and iron, a necessity in ancient life, the profits of any national consumer product are enough to drive capital crazy, and even become the financial pillar of governments of various countries. After tobacco flowed into Spain, the government discovered that more and more people were smoking grass, so it began to collect taxes to make money. Because the money came so easily, he then ordered the planting of tobacco in its colonies around the world. It can only be said that those with diabetes would not let him taste the sweetness in the future.
However, European and American countries that have tasted the benefits without exception regard it as a money printing machine because of its huge profits.
Just like Virginia in the United States thrived on tobacco cultivation.
Then, after the advent of automatic cigarette machines, mass production was no longer a problem. Just like every worker's dream was to lie flat and watch the machine roll hard. This belonged to true inner rolling. Therefore, in the face of a huge market, American capitalists in the 1920s decided to focus on both supply and demand, and no demand created demand.
It's like Camel branding smoking as a stress-relieving label in a tobacco advertisement. After a cigarette is tired, you are as happy as a god. Free America, you need to smoke a cigarette.
In 1927, Lucky sent 11105 doctors to endorse their cigarettes, meaning that Lucky cigarettes were healthier.
#p#Pagination Title #e#Moreover, at that time, the film industry was on the rise, and smoking scenes could be seen everywhere in Hollywood blockbusters, and almost every movie was eating. Capital also binds popular Hollywood actresses to cigarettes and shapes women's smoking as a symbol of women's pursuit of independence, just like lighting this cigarette and you can be as beautiful as Marilyn Monroe, just like learning that handsome smoking posture and you are Tony Leung.
Then in 1930, cigarettes completed market education across the country, and everyone wanted to take a puff to please themselves and pursue fashion.
5
Hazards of cigarettes
For a long time, tobacco was also considered to be a refreshing and even a cure-all cure. Until 1924, the American "Reader's Digest" published an article reminding people that smoking is harmful to health. In 1962 and 1964, the Royal College of Physicians and the U.S. Medical Administration reported that smoking affects health.
In 1966, American cigarette packages began to bear signs stating that smoking is harmful to health.
Then in order to reduce harm, filter-tip cigarettes came into being, as well as long-stick cigarettes and light-flavor low-tar cigarettes. In the past 100 years, it has become increasingly clear that smoking is harmful.
The harm and magic of cigarettes are caused by the chemicals produced after they are burned.
First of all, the magic power of cigarettes is nicotine produced after burning. Nicotine is an alkaloid found in plants. It is found in most Solanaceae plants such as tomatoes and wolfberry. It can release catecholamines in the body, which leads to increased heart rate and increased blood pressure. In a way, it's the same exciting effect as caffeine, like the excitement of riding a roller coaster, or the reason why people like to gamble, which is essentially because of the production of exciting substances. Cigarettes are difficult to quit. The main reason why nicotine plays a role is nicotine, which is addictive.
But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in 2017 that nicotine has no direct causal link with cancer.
In addition, according to the latest carcinogen list of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a subsidiary of the World Health Organization, nicotine is not even the last class of Category 4 carcinogens, while tobacco, secondhand smoke and alcohol are all Category 1 carcinogens that can clearly cause cancer.
Therefore, the most direct harm to cigarettes is not nicotine. The main factor behind the increase in lung cancer rates is cancer-causing tar.
Because after burning cigarettes, in addition to nicotine and water vapor, they also produce thousands of different substances including tobacco tar, carbon monoxide, aldehydes, nitrosamines, organic acids, etc. Tar not only discolor fingers and teeth, but also accelerates the aging of human blood vessels, leading to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. Moreover, various chemical substances such as benzopyrene, cadmium, arsenic, β-naphthalene, amines, and nitrosamines produced under incomplete combustion of tobacco are also other causes of cancer. In the words of Michael Russell, a British psychiatrist and the father of modern smoking cessation: People smoke for nicotine but they die from the tar.# p#pagination title #e#
6
E-cigarettes come out
So like filter cigarettes and low-tar cigarettes, humans want to retain the stimulation of nicotine while reducing the harm caused by tar, so e-cigarettes are created. In 2003, China pharmacist Han Li invented e-cigarettes in a truly modern sense. Two years later, Ruyan came out.
Because Han Li's father suffered from lung cancer due to long-term smoking, he decided to quit smoking. His idea was also very straightforward, which was to remove other harmful substances and only retain nicotine. Therefore, Ruyan e-cigarettes without tar and other substances had a turnover in the first year. The amount reached 200 million yuan. At its peak from 2007 to 2008, sales were nearly 1 billion yuan.
Of course, in the end, Ruyan was retaliated by himself, because its original intention was to quit smoking, and nicotine was the key to addiction, not tar. Therefore, Ruyan, which couldn't quit, was acquired by Imperial Tobacco, the world's fourth largest tobacco company, for US$75 million after years of losses.
And its failure is more due to its untimely timing, because the public does not pay enough attention to health, just like a potato who wants to be a China YouTube but overestimates the Internet bandwidth. Therefore, Ruyan's failure does not represent the failure of the e-cigarette industry, because consumers 'increasing emphasis on health indicates that the spring of e-cigarettes is coming. In official terms, e-cigarettes are also called "electronic nicotine delivery systems", just like cigarettes deliver nicotine through combustion, while e-cigarettes atomize the built-in aerosol agent.
Because the temperature generated by the heat element is about 300 degrees, which is lower than the 800 degrees when tobacco burns, it is very different from the burning process of traditional tobacco. Therefore, the composition of e-cigarette aerosol and traditional cigarette smoke is also very different.
Take Laimi as an example. The so-called e-cigarette is composed of an electronic atomizer and a atomizing bomb. It is divided into solid atomizing rods and liquid atomizing rods. From the perspective of liquid atomizing rods, its composition is different from tobacco and is composed of extracted nicotine and propylene glycol glycerol and other raw materials. The atomization process is made up of a battery with a power of 6w to atomize the atomizing liquid. There are no harmful substances such as tar in traditional cigarettes. At the same time, compared with common tobacco oils on the market, the composition of the atomizing liquid of Laimi is greatly reduced. It can create larger smoke, Propylene glycol, which simulates the experience of real cigarettes, because of the water-absorbing properties of propylene glycol, if you smoke too much propylene glycol, you will have the negative experience of dry mouth. Therefore, in order to ensure the amount of smoke and improve the taste, the natural plant extract developed by Shennong Tobacco Group used in Laimi is another improvement in e-cigarettes.
Once Laimi was released, it has been recognized by a wide range of e-cigarette users for its proposition that real herbs can smooth the throat. Its special herbal atomizing liquid has also given consumers a more upgraded experience than before.
At the level of solid-state atomizing sticks, I don't know if everyone knows about the previous incident in which IQOS cigarettes were banned. It is precisely because the cartridges of IQOS e-cigarettes contain tobacco components. Although it is HNB(Heat Not Burning), which means heating and not burning, using tobacco raw materials touches the regulations in the Tobacco Monopoly Law. You are not called Zhang San, so naturally you cannot be an extra-legal maniac. However, the new category registered by Raimi is called HDB(Heat Doesn't Burning). It is also heated and does not burn, but the ingredients are mainly natural plant particles. ZERO zero-plus-zero tobacco, pure plants, low-temperature herbal atomizing sticks, and a one-stop process for reducing harm and relieving addiction. The logic behind this is to reduce all the harm that can be reduced, which is also a boon for domestic iQOS users.# p#pagination title #e#
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Just as Shennong Tobacco Science, behind Laimi, cooperated with the Kunming Institute of Botany of China Academy of Sciences to establish a joint laboratory for cigarette harm reduction. In terms of harm reduction, Shennong Tobacco Branch also won the second prize for scientific and technological progress awarded by the State Council.Perhaps it may also be combined with Chinese herbal medicine in the future to continue to develop in a harmless or even beneficial direction.?
Therefore, at this level, compared with traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes are the result of industrial efforts and inevitable development. Just as Wuyeshen Group proposed in 1999,"Culture passes on the fire and works hard to forge the future", and just as Shennong Tobacco Science advocated doing the right thing in controversial industries, non-tobacco technology and a harmless future are our mission.
In the 10 years since the birth of e-cigarettes, the number of brands on the market has increased from Ruyan to 466, and each family is exploring better health solutions.
In 2015, JUUL invented an innovative formula for e-cigarettes-nicotine salt. It replaces free nicotine to solve the problem of low conversion rates of early e-cigarettes and achieves the feeling of completely simulating real cigarettes.So in just four years, JUUL became the largest e-cigarette company in the United States, with a market share of more than two-thirds in the United States.
In 2018, Yueshi e-cigarettes, which saw opportunities in JUUL, were born. Yueshi, which is backed by developed manufacturing in the Pearl River Delta, also pioneered domestic liquid e-cigarettes. It was listed in the United States three years after its establishment, reaching a market value of RMB 300 billion at its peak. At the same time, it also made more later participants aware of opportunities in R & D and innovation, just as small cigarettes can be divided into disposable, oil-filled and cigarette bombs.
In addition to liquid e-cigarettes and solid-state e-cigarettes, the innovation speed of the e-cigarette industry is similar to that when iQOS was first popular, some people even took a lighter to light it directly. Now, Raimi's Wuyeshen Group has innovatively developed and developed it in China. The low-temperature herbal solid-state e-cigarettes with the largest market share reflect the high-speed iteration of products, and their most essential logic is still to reduce health harm.
In August 2015, the UK Department of Public Health (PHE) proposed that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than ordinary cigarettes.
Although the Lancet questioned it and bluntly pointed out that the PHE's conclusion was "premature." However, according to current research, it is a consensus that e-cigarettes have reduced the toxic substances produced by burning ordinary cigarettes.
In 2018, a 774-page report by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) used more clear data to demonstrate that e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. In terms of second-hand smoke, e-cigarettes release much less nicotine and PM2.5 than traditional cigarettes.
On July 9, 2021, China Tobacco Science and Education Network published an article "Research shows that e-cigarettes are more suitable for quitting smoking than nicotine replacement therapy."# p#pagination title #e#
In a study at Queen Mary University in London, one group chose NRT to quit smoking, while the other group used e-cigarettes to quit smoking. After 6 months, 27% of the e-cigarette group reduced their smoking by at least half, compared with 6% of the NRT group achieving the same effect; 19% of smokers in the e-cigarette group completely quit smoking, compared with only 3% in the NRT group.
In the past five years, e-cigarettes have once again entered our horizons on a large scale. It is precisely because the stage of social development has given us a new look at health. It is also a technology-driven industry development, just as the innovation of tobacco oil and atomizers has made e-cigarettes create a better sense of satisfaction and experience, while reducing harm to the body.
From the launch of unheated tobacco oil by Marlboro's parent company in 2015, to the advent of small cigarettes, to electronic atomization technology, e-cigarettes have been constantly innovating in terms of tobacco oil blending, nicotine synthesis, and atomization structure design. E-cigarettes may not be the ultimate version, but they are a step in mankind's pursuit of a better life and a major progress in the development of human civilization.
7
The nature of smoke
The "2019 China Adult Tobacco Survey Report" shows that the smoking rate in my country is 27.7%, including 52.1% for men and 2.7% for women. There is no significant change compared with five years ago. From this data, it can reflect an indisputable fact, that is, humans are still the same humans who are addicted to various plants, just like thousands of years ago. Between traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes, choosing e-cigarettes is still the lesser of two evils.
As Lao Tzu said: "Five colors make people blind, five tones make people deaf, and five flavors make people feel refreshed."It is human nature to pursue sensory enjoyment and stimulation. From the time humans entered farming society to the gradual formation of a fixed city-state and commodity economy, people were no longer satisfied with just food and clothing, but began to pursue complex sensory and spiritual needs. At the addiction level, they were coffee and tea, cigarettes and alcohol.
Humanity has also relied on them for thousands of years. On the one hand, it is physiological, and on the other hand, it is also social and cultural! Just like the wine table culture in China, just like the coffee culture in the West, the Dragon and Phoenix Group Tea transformed the drink of tea into a tea competition culture enjoyed by the court and dignitaries. It also reflects that the economic foundation determines the superstructure.
After all, people have hobbies and need to decompress and socialize. When we drink a can of cola, we can't get rid of the sugar in it, and any qualitative analysis that puts aside quantitative analysis is a hooligan, just like the so-called harmless sugar and oil that have led to average American obesity, and the huge economic benefits it produces are also a legal addiction.What's more, the Lancet research report pointed out that the number one factor endangering human health is excessive salt. Today, when heavy tastes are rampant, eating healthily to satisfy your appetite is also the same problem. The lighter problem.
#p#Pagination Title #e#So we have a vitality forest that wants sweetness but not sugar, and we also have e-cigarettes that want nicotine but not tar damage.
To use a negative case, it is the most harmful drug among drugs, because the original intention of humans to use cannabis poppy is for fabrics and medical purposes, and the reason why opium, heroin and other drugs derived from opium poppy are banned globally is because it has The negative impact on society is far greater than its positive impact. It is also a trade-off between economic interests and social values.
Whether it is extracting refined white sugar or roasting coffee, science and technology have no likes, dislikes, good and evil. It is like an Internet addict who was once addicted to video games becoming a greasy middle-aged man who stayed up late to watch Short Video. He smokes and drinks to perm his hair. His hair may not be scalded because of baldness, but alcohol and tobacco are enduring in ancient and modern times. Therefore, these consumption of addictive drugs is a solution for humans to deal with anxiety and stress in social life. The turning of online games into Short Video is just a change in the way we relieve anxiety and stress, because technology is advancing, technology is for good, and technology is for good. It is the values we should advocate.
As for how to use technology, it is a consideration from another dimension.
Just like after China entered the socialist market economy, we yearned for speculators, experienced the baptism of A-share bookmakers, and responded to the property market bubble and financial crisis. In the end, we still relied on constantly improving laws.
So what we need is standardization, standardization and effective control, such as protecting minors from exposure to tobacco and alcohol. For example, in the future, measures such as qualification certification, taste restriction, cigarette oil content or concentration, and taxation may be introduced in the field of e-cigarettes.
China's tobacco industry is facing a century of great changes. Currently, the main global consumer markets for e-cigarettes are in Europe and the United States, and more than 90% of e-cigarette production is in China. How to enable an industry that can create a huge trade surplus to develop under legal channels is also a question that society, the government, and the entire industry need to think deeply.
References:
"The Human History of Plants Shaping"-Shi Jun
"The Harms of Smoking and Nicotine Replacement Therapy"-Adverse Drug Reactions
《E-cigarettes: an evidence update. A report commissioned by Public Health England. 》-Public Health England
Harvard Medical School's Addiction Handbook-Lance Dodds
"A History of Smoking"-Sandell Gilman
#p#Pagination Title #e#"Global e-cigarette market development, major disputes and government regulation"-Li Baojiang
"E-Cigarette Game"-Chen Hongxia, Yang Huirong
"Overview of E-Cigarette and Analysis of Industry Status"-Liu Yibo, Li Feng, Hu Jing
