4 ms·

A century ago, the idea that smoking causes cancer was quite new and was decades away from being conclusively proven.

SoftTalker 1y ago
Also many people heated their homes with coal or wood and the air quality in houses and cities was pretty bad even if you weren't a smoker. Asbestos was everywhere too.
- jjtheblunt 1y ago
  > Asbestos was everywhere too. if you have data supporting that, please share it; it would be interesting (morbidly). i think that's inaccurate because, while Romans knew of it (Pliny wrote of slaves getting breathing disease who worked with it), mining of it, largely for military uses didn't go crazy until the world wars, and surpluses from mining post wars was insidiously repurposed into the commercial sector particularly in california and in random other regions.
  - SoftTalker 1y ago
    Asbestos was widely used to insulate boilers and heating pipes/ductwork up until the 1970s or so. It's too bad it's such a health hazard because it's really a very effective substance for that purpose. It insulates well and it doesn't burn. Also widely used in car and truck brake pads. Sorry that's not really "data" but it is pretty common knowledge.
    - jjtheblunt 1y ago
      agreed
ars 1y ago
> that smoking causes cancer was quite new Hardly new, In Sketches, Old and New by Mark Twain in 1893, he treats the concept of: smoking being dangerous, as obviously known but annoying and he doesn't want to hear about it. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3189 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3189
- streptomycin 1y ago
  Wikipedia says "In 1912, American Dr. Isaac Adler was the first to strongly suggest that lung cancer is related to smoking." but I guess there could be other less strong suggestions before then. Regardless, I think it is true that it wasn't conclusively proven until decades later, and then took some more time for the general public to be aware.

Also many people heated their homes with coal or wood and the air quality in houses and cities was pretty bad even if you weren't a smoker. Asbestos was everywhere too.

jjtheblunt 1y ago
> Asbestos was everywhere too. if you have data supporting that, please share it; it would be interesting (morbidly). i think that's inaccurate because, while Romans knew of it (Pliny wrote of slaves getting breathing disease who worked with it), mining of it, largely for military uses didn't go crazy until the world wars, and surpluses from mining post wars was insidiously repurposed into the commercial sector particularly in california and in random other regions.
- SoftTalker 1y ago
  Asbestos was widely used to insulate boilers and heating pipes/ductwork up until the 1970s or so. It's too bad it's such a health hazard because it's really a very effective substance for that purpose. It insulates well and it doesn't burn. Also widely used in car and truck brake pads. Sorry that's not really "data" but it is pretty common knowledge.
  - jjtheblunt 1y ago
    agreed

ars 1y ago

> that smoking causes cancer was quite new Hardly new, In Sketches, Old and New by Mark Twain in 1893, he treats the concept of: smoking being dangerous, as obviously known but annoying and he doesn't want to hear about it. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3189 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3189

streptomycin 1y ago
Wikipedia says "In 1912, American Dr. Isaac Adler was the first to strongly suggest that lung cancer is related to smoking." but I guess there could be other less strong suggestions before then. Regardless, I think it is true that it wasn't conclusively proven until decades later, and then took some more time for the general public to be aware.