Smoking is and has been a staple of free cultures throughout
history. It has been a long established element of what was once
thought of as the art of being a well-rounded gentleman,
especially in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 1800's, it was
not uncommon for a young gentleman to hire a smoking tutor of
sorts to teach him the art of smoking, with the course
considered a success when the student was able to blow smoke
rings. Most gentlemens' clubs were a haven for smokers of all
ranks, be it pipes, cigars, or cigarettes. Many clubs featured
their own humidours, as well as a nice variety of smoking
jackets to choose from. As to ill health effects, one must keep
in mind that the tobaccos of the 1800's and earlier 1900's were
not sprayed with the poisonous toxins more modern tobaccos are.
Nor were cigarette tobaccos doused in dangerous chemicals as
they are now, in order to give the leaf a longer shelf life (not
to mention the fillers which have also come into play). The
modern anti-smoking studies were more