¿smoking to treat asthma? If you lived in the 19th century and had this disease, it is likely that your GP would have recommended this treatment to relieve symptoms.
now in the XXI century this seems crazy, but more than 200 years ago it became very popular.
In fact, there were brands of cigarettes for asthmacreated with the purpose of relieving symptoms, among them were the Asthmador, the Potter’s Asthma Cure, Himrod’s Cure for Asthma (endorsed by the famous otolaryngologist Morell Mackenzie), among others.
In the left image. you can see cigarette brands for asthma. Photo: Fake History Hunter and Wikimedia Commons.
Los asthma cigarettes mainly contained jimson weeda poisonous plant with psychoactive qualities, which has had medicinal applications throughout history.
But also included tobaccolobelia, potash, and sometimes arsenic, the study notes “Divine jimsonweed: The rise and fall of smoking for asthma. written by him British researcher Mark Jackson and published in the magazine history of medicine on the page of United States National Library of Medicine.
An advertisement for cigarettes for asthma / Image: Fake History Hunter
What we now know regarding asthma
We currently know that the asthma is a condition of the airways that “become narrowed and swollen, which can produce more mucus”, points out the Mayo Clinic.
“This can make it hard to breathe and cause coughing, a whistling sound when you exhale, and shortness of breath.” While there is no cure, symptoms can and should be controlled, because a severe asthma attack can be life-threatening, the institution says.
And above all, we now know that a risk factor for asthma is being a smoker or being exposed to cigarette smoke of someone else as a passive smoker, so tobacco is not recommended at all.
Photo: iStock
The remedy was worse than the evil
Research Mark Jackson, Professor of the History of Medicine, Center for Medical History, University of Exetershows that until before the 20th century, doctors “paid little attention to smoking as a health hazard.”
In fact, the doctors themselves emphasized its benefits and many might be seen smoking, as it was considered a habit that showed professional and personal success.
By, the tobacco industry and its grew enormously and advertised medicinal cigarettes as the best cure for people with respiratory diseases.
How did you stop smoking to cure asthma?
Researcher Mark Jackson explains that Opposition to smoking for asthma relief came from several directions.
First of all, it was due to a greater knowledge of the disease, Little by little, more doctors who specialized in allergies and respiratory diseases began to oppose it.
In 1911, the statements of JB Berkart, a doctor at the Hospital for Diseases of the Chest in the City of London, who warned asthmatics regarding the dangers of commercially available asthma cigarettes, “the smoke of which, when inhaled, intensely irritates the bronchial mucous membrane”, resulting in more inflammation. But he was not the only one to say so.
Also in In the 1950s, research began to be published showing a link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. And to develop new drugs to cure asthma.
Photo: iStock
Despite all this, during the following decades the tobacco companies continued to advertise cigarettes once morest asthma.
Ironically, Jackson’s research notes, The definitive disappearance of these cigarettes was due to the fact that, starting in 1960, the press began to identify cases of adolescents and adults who crushed them, mixed them with water and ingested them to have hallucinations. due to the psychoactive effects of the substances they contained.
If you want more information on the subject you can read the full investigation here.
