Thread by @meenakshisharan

Remember puffing on red-tipped Phantom Sweet Cigarettes as a child, to look cool?
With huge advertising, smoking was made a fashionably acceptable social behaviour, at work, in bars, cinemas
homes etc; imposing all activities being incomplete without a #Cigarette !
#nosmoking

Smoking #cigarette was legitimated, celebrated & glamourized on Hollywood screen through stars like Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney
Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper
Humphrey Bogart,Lauren Bacall Marlene Dietrich etc, ensuring that it’d never lose its sophisticated lofty significance

#Cigarette was ‘imposed’ across all social classes & women!
In 1925, #Marlboro was introduced as a woman’s cigarette, ‘Mild as May’
The poison was thus transported to the rest of the world!
By 17th cent, 🇮🇳, China,SE Asia
Middle East, WAfrica started growing #tobacco
#nosmoking

Pipes were introduced into Asia,soon they were made from clay, wood, bamboo, jade, ivory, metal, porcelain. Hookahs were then taken up by Arabs, Persians, Indians, Chines as a necessary activity with conversation, tea, coffee!
#NoSmoking #NoTobacco

Originally sold as an expensive handmade luxury item for the European elite, 12% of the world’s smokers today, are in India!
Over 10 lakh deaths in India per year are due to #SMOKING #Tobacco chewing!
#TobaccoFreeIndia

Why do you think #GuruGobindSingh ji prohibited #SMOKING ?
#tobacco was the premium sources of revenue for Mughals, its consumption was hence prohibited to hit them where it hurt; economically!
And yes, the Guru wanted us to be free of such ills!
#TobaccoFreeIndia #nosmokingday

https://twitter.com/meenakshisharan/status/985023899246063617

Phantom/ candy #cigarettes are still sold on @amazon
@swiggy_in delivers them do your doorstep
rolling papers, joint, chillum- youth lost in cloud of smoke- #HimachalPradesh
Who’s to be held accountable, the system, governments, Bollywood, parents or all?
#TobaccoExposed