How prevalent was tobacco smoking between 1700-1850

by dwarfythegnome

During the aforementioned years how often would you find someone smoking tobacco, what places was tobacco smoked most often how much would it have cost, and what was used to smoke (cigars, pipes, snuff, chewing tobacco ect.)?

BCA1

Relatively common, depending on the method of uptake. I live in a town where the oldest Quaker meeting house in the United States is located (dates back to 16 something) and it reeks of tobacco smoke. Jamestown, Virginia has a collection of tobacco pipes that were dug up, and that dates back to 1608.

Snuff was more of an upper class thing, especially around the late 1600s-early 1700s. Various trading companies, especially those in the Colonies, sold snuff boxes. It was more common among women than men, as it was considered impolite for a woman to smoke in those days.

Chewing tobacco was always extremely prevalent in the American South, much as it is today. It never "took off" in Europe, with the exception of snus, a Swedish form of dipping tobacco that was placed in the upper lip. It is, however, worth noting that in Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719), Crusoe takes a large piece of tobacco and chews on it, indicating that it did have some limited usage in Europe.

Cigarettes were not widely available until the 20th century due to the advent of the rolling machine in the 1880s, however still existed, and were pricey. Once the Spanish settled in Central and South America, wrappers made of corn were first introduced, followed by paper in the 1600s. Cigarette smoking was not prevalent in Europe until the 1840s, when they began to be produced on a large(er) scale in France.

Before about 1860, most tobacco pipes would have been clay, meerschaum, or ceramic. Briar pipes (the wooden ones you see nowadays) weren't introduced until around the American Civil War. Pipe smoking was by far the most common method of tobacco usage.

Cigars in one form or another have existed since the dawn of the Aztecs. After the settlement of the New World, tobacco began to be grown commercially. Cigar smoking was at its peak in the 19th century, and less common before that. Ulysses S. Grant, American General, was given essentially a lifetime of cigars as gifts after his victory at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.

evacipated

I can't speak to the rest of the world, but during some research I did on the Dutch Republic, I found out that it wasn't an uncommon sight to see a room thick with tobacco smoke, similar to I imagine the 50s and 60s were, if not worse. As for the cost of the tobacco and how they smoked it, I can't say. The book's (An Embarrassment of Riches by Simon Schama) of no longer in my possession.