Sir Walter Raleigh we hear you cry! However some time before Sir Walter was doused at about 5000 BC, Shaman were recorded using smoke in their rituals. However early  Europeans landing in the Americas and foreign lands quickly took up the smoking habits and spread the word.The "art" of smoking was hence born as the western civilisation knows it. Smoking clubs sprang up in the Edwardian times, normally men only. The 1960’s saw the most influential times of the modern day cigarette with a subsequent anti smoking movement developing in the 1980’s. We think today of tobacco filled cigarettes but to be fair opium dens sprang up during the British / Chinese trading times of the 19th century. Cannabis was also a precursor and was smoked much more with the assistance of the hubbly bubbly water based pipes.

Europeans adopted the popular form of smoking in the Americas when it was discovered and this was smoking in the form of  a pipe , usually a peace pipe. The"art" of smoking has had its fair share of controversial figures associated with it over time. Religious leaders were always at the fore due to their status and Urban V11 condemned it even back in the 1600’s and James the First of England also tried to implement a 4000 percent smoking tax which did not work. The Great War saw some interesting times when it came to smoking , prior there were not to many cases reported of lung cancer . Anti smoking groups were prominent in Germany at this time and a link was established between lung cancer and smoking, come the second war even A Hitler condemned smoking as a waste of money. However a mile stone was reached in WW2 as British Scientist Richard Doll published documentation proving the link between smoking and it causing bad health.

The 1960 and onwards saw a massive increase in smoking and the habit became popular. The most recent years have however seen smokers become somewhat social outcasts. The advent of nicotine patches, sprays and gums have come and are still with us but we believe that the one and only real tool that can be effectively used is the electronic cigarette.