The tobacco industry was one of the first industries in America. The people of the pre-Columbian Americas first used tobacco in the early 1600s. “Native Americans apparently cultivated the plant and smoked it in pipes for medicinal and ceremonial purposes (The Tobacco Industry, 1998).” Christopher Columbus brought a few tobacco leaves and seeds back to Europe. “Most Europeans did not consume tobacco until the late 16th century, until adventurers and diplomats like France's Jean Nicot, for whom nicotin

Taste is a major reason why someone would smoke a certain brand. Camel and Marlboro both have a menthol, a light tar, nicotine, and a high tar in nicotine type of cigarette. One thing Camel brand cigarettes have that most don’t have is a cigarette that is flavored. These types of cigarettes are called Camel Exotics, some of the flavors are creamy mellow mint and dark chocolate. However, taste is not the only reason someone smokes a certain brand.

The final and most important factor that controls the tobacco industry is its customers. The cigarette industry has undergone a vast change in demographics in the past 10 years. As early as 1900, cigarette customers have typically been young, white, males trying to show his manhood. More recently, “A vast majority of new smokers are either women, low-income, minorities, or are from south of the Mason-Dixon line (Brink B.F., 1990).” The new cigarette smoker is more price sensitive, therefore cigarette companies are trying to hold down price increases to avoid the loss of customers to generic brands. Customers do not have much of a stronghold on the prices of cigarettes. “It has been shown throughout the history that demand for its product is relatively inelastic, and therefore customers have very little power over the pricing policies of the cigarette firms unless the firms intend to impose a huge price increase of more than 10 percent” (McGowan, 1995, p. 141). The image of the smoker is also changing. In the past, it had been normal to see a middle-class, white-collar worker smoking, but now it is considered to be unacceptable behavior to see smoking in an office environment, although smoking is still accepted among low-income, blue-collar, and foreign-born workers.

It was not until the 1880s that the tobacco industry became a major economic force in America. After 1880 it did not look back. By 1890 sales of smoking and chewing tobacco had doubled from their 1880s level, and cigar sales had tripled. By 1905,it was estimated that the annual expenditure on the 400 million poun

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