Tobacco Wives by Adele Myer
Where There’s Smoke...
A young seamstress in 1946 North Carolina, discovers the secrets of a tobacco company. She learns the harsh reality between the balance of truth and consequences, health and economy, and the strength of profit and power. This book is sure to spur some great book club discussions not only about smoking, but also women’s roll in the 1940s and fashion. Good book! It will be published next month, so pre-order your copy from your local independent bookstore today.
Of course I was curious, so I found some brief information on the history of tobacco:
6,000 BC: Tobacco has been around for a long, long time…dating back to 6,000 BC.
1760: L.P. Lorillard Co. was the first tobacco company in the U.S. (NYC). They first produced pipe tobacco, cigars, chewing tobacco, and snuff.
1847: Philip Morris was established in the UK; in 1902 in the US. Marlboro is one of their brands.
1849: J.E. Liggett and Brothers established in St. Louis
1875: R.J. Reynolds Co. founded—made chewing tobacco
1909: Patent for the first cigarette machine was introduced. I remember seeing them around when I was growing up (and no, I was not alive in 1909). Although I never bought any cigarettes from a vending machine, my husband put them to good use when he was a teenager. These days they are only allowed in establishments with certain age restrictions…in other words bars.
1912: First report of a connection between smoking and cancer
WWI and WWII: Cigarettes were included in soldiers’ rations
1920s: Cigarette girls in their cute little skirts and hats with a tray of cigarette wares strapped around their necks were all the fashion in supper clubs!
1957: Newport Menthol cigarettes were introduced for women
1964: Surgeon General warnings were added to cigarette packs
1971: Cigarette ads were banned from TV and radio
1992: Nicotine patch introduced
1998: Cigarette ads were banned on transit and billboards
2006: Tobacco companies can no longer advertise that “low tar” and “light” cigarettes are less harmful—something they already knew long ago
2018: Menthol was set to be banned in cigarettes…until the tobacco companies put the pressure on and the ban went up in smoke.
2019: Minimum age to purchase cigarettes was raised to 21 years of age federally. But a few exceptions remain like Idaho and Arizona in which you can purchase cigarettes at age 18. Not sure how that works if it’s federally mandated?
My dad smoked as a kid in the 1940s and even then he knew about the effects of smoking regardless what the ads tried to tell you—like these two I found in a 1945 and 1942 Life Magazine.
The left one states their cigarettes have “scientifically proved far less irritating to the smoker’s nose and throat.” Is that so?
The other one from 1942 states “If you love to smoke, if you hate even to think of cutting down…especially now when war worries and defense activities keep nerves tense…then new Julep Cigarettes are meant for you! Even if you smoke 20, 40, 60 Juleps a day, the last puff tastes as good as the first…your mouth and throat stay free of that smoke-weary, burned-out feeling…your breath remains untainted by tobacco-halitosis. How is this possible? Because Juelps are improved by a miracle-mint essence, that works wonders.”
WOW! It’s a miracle!
On a personal note, my mother smoked all her life. While growing up in the 70s she sent us to the neighborhood 7-11 every so often with a note allowing us to purchase a pack of cigarettes for her. Who remembers those days? 😲 She quit when she was in her 50s—one of the most difficult things she’d ever done. Unfortunately, her lifelong habit caught up with her and in 2015, at my nephew’s graduation ceremony from the Marines, she was overcome with excruciating back pain. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in May of 2015. In July, she had a massive stroke, probably brought on from the extreme stress of the chemotherapy treatments. On July 4th, we watched the fireworks from the hospital window, and two days later she passed away—only two short months after her diagnosis. And yes, she did know that cigarettes cause cancer when she started smoking. She just didn't think it would happen to her. She was young and stupid, and then she was hooked.
Fashion
Ok, let’s get on with something more cheery. In this book, fifteen-year-old Maddie sews beautiful gowns for an upcoming gala held by the tobacco company. She mentions many different dress styles, fabrics, and even hats. Below are images I got from a 1945 Life Magazine that shows the “latest fall fashion” in headwear. Fun to look at! The middle one with the white bow was called a Yoo-Hoo. Which one would you wear?
My grandmother was a milliner. Here’s a photo of her in the late 1940s wearing one of her creations! Pretty snazzy!
In the book I learned about “fascinator” hats, too. Those are the kind that are mainly decorative bits that ride on the top of a woman’s head. I couldn’t resist looking them up. Here are Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice with the ultimate fascinators! You go girls!
Well that about wraps it up for me. I could go on about the women’s roll in that time period as is mentioned in the book. But I’ve blathered on long enough. I’ll leave you to discuss that with your book club. 😀
Happy Reading,
Annette
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