1604Reputable sourceWell documented
King James I's 'Counterblaste to Tobacco'
On the timeline · around 1604 ·
What happened
In 1604, King James I of England published A Counterblaste to Tobacco, condemning smoking as 'loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs.' He raised taxes on it steeply.
Why it matters
It is one of the earliest and most famous anti-smoking statements in history — issued, remarkably, more than 350 years before the science of smoking and cancer.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. A Brief History of Tobacco in the Americas · Reputable source