S11E7 Cigarette Nation: The History of Cigarettes in Canada

Curious Canadian History · Dec 16, 2025 · 45m

Cigarette smoking in Canada is a fascinating look at how consumer products, social rituals, and corporate misinformation interact. While widespread cigarette use began in the 1930s it was in the 1950s where a causal link between smoking and lung cancer surfaced in medical journals and mainstream media. Yet the best years for the Canadian cigarette industry were still to come, as per capita cigarette consumption rose steadily in the 1960s and 1970s. The persistence of smoking owes to such factors as product development, marketing and retailing innovation, public relations, sponsored science…