ACADEMIC LISTENING TEST PRACTICE
SMOKING - A SHORT HISTORY
OF THE CIGARETTE
SMOKING - A SHORT HISTORY
OF THE CIGARETTE
For Students Preparing for Academic Tests / IELTS and TOEFL
Listen as you read the script.
Playing Time: 2 minutes 46 seconds
The origins of smoking are not clear but researchers believe that smoking first began, perhaps, thousands of years ago in Mexico and Brazil. Smoking among other populations, however, did not begin until Europeans discovered it after they landed in North and South America about 500 years ago. It is after this time that we have a more complete picture of the history of smoking.
Up until the late 1800s, smoking was not a very popular activity, in either Europe or America. This changed with the advent of modern industrialization. In 1875, an American company, called ‘Allen and Ginter’, offered to give $US75,000 to anyone who could make an automated machine that could make cigarettes. Five years later, in 1880, an American named James Bonsack did just that. He invented a machine that could make 200 cigarettes each minute. That was equal to an amazing 120,000 cigarettes each ten-hour working day. Before this time, one person could make only about four cigarettes each minute.
One year later, the cigarette factory had produced ten million cigarettes, and with his business partner, James Duke, he later created the American Tobacco Company. Still, by 1900, few people smoked but this changed during World War 1 and World War 2 when cigarette companies gave soldiers free cigarettes. In 1944, those same companies were making 300 billion cigarettes every year.
As smoking became more and more popular, an American government report was published in 1964 that said smoking had a very negative effect on people’s health. As a result, all American cigarette packages were required by law to have a warning label stating that smoking is dangerous. This is still the case. Furthermore, since 1998, Americans under the age of 18 (and in some states 19) have not been allowed to buy cigarettes. These changes have led to fewer and fewer people smoking in the United States.
That’s good news for most people, but not for the cigarette companies, who want to increase their profits. Therefore, to continue making money, they are now selling more cigarettes to many other countries where the number of smokers is now actually increasing. Researchers say that, between the years 2000 and 2100, about one billion people will possibly die of illnesses directly related to smoking.
Up until the late 1800s, smoking was not a very popular activity, in either Europe or America. This changed with the advent of modern industrialization. In 1875, an American company, called ‘Allen and Ginter’, offered to give $US75,000 to anyone who could make an automated machine that could make cigarettes. Five years later, in 1880, an American named James Bonsack did just that. He invented a machine that could make 200 cigarettes each minute. That was equal to an amazing 120,000 cigarettes each ten-hour working day. Before this time, one person could make only about four cigarettes each minute.
One year later, the cigarette factory had produced ten million cigarettes, and with his business partner, James Duke, he later created the American Tobacco Company. Still, by 1900, few people smoked but this changed during World War 1 and World War 2 when cigarette companies gave soldiers free cigarettes. In 1944, those same companies were making 300 billion cigarettes every year.
As smoking became more and more popular, an American government report was published in 1964 that said smoking had a very negative effect on people’s health. As a result, all American cigarette packages were required by law to have a warning label stating that smoking is dangerous. This is still the case. Furthermore, since 1998, Americans under the age of 18 (and in some states 19) have not been allowed to buy cigarettes. These changes have led to fewer and fewer people smoking in the United States.
That’s good news for most people, but not for the cigarette companies, who want to increase their profits. Therefore, to continue making money, they are now selling more cigarettes to many other countries where the number of smokers is now actually increasing. Researchers say that, between the years 2000 and 2100, about one billion people will possibly die of illnesses directly related to smoking.
Note: For more cool ESL resources about smoking, visit my All Things Topics site.
