The Big Smoke
2 June 2008
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Did you know that road traffic accidents in London kill less than 1 person each day, while smoking cigarettes kills 1 Londoner every hour? Or that cigarette butts account for 40% of the litter on London’s streets? Despite these bleak statistics 2 million Londoners regularly light up to enjoy a cigarette.
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One year on from the smoking ban, The Big Smoke looks at the history of smoking in London and life in the capital since the ban.
On 1 July 2007 smoking was banned in all public places throughout England. It was greatly debated, widely publicised and much opposed. The small display looks at the implications of the ban, from those that welcomed it, those that suffered as a result of it and the extra measures taken by others to deal with it. Don’t miss the tube containing one week’s worth of cigarette butts collected in the City of London from one square mile of stressed-out City workers.
From ornate smoking pipes to distinctive cigarette adverts, the display will use objects and images from the Museum of London’s collections to chart the history of smoking from the first introduction of tobacco to London to the present day, following changes in attitude over the centuries. The Big Smoke will also showcase the varying opinions on the current smoking ban and show its effects on London, its businesses and people.
London was the centre of the tobacco trade from its first introduction to Britain in the mid 16th century. Walter Raleigh, the Elizabethan explorer, became a committed pipe-smoker and popularised the habit of smoking. By 1614 there were 7000 tobacconist’s shops in the London area, hitting the height of popularity in the 19th century. From the 1880s machines were pumping out cigarettes at a rate of 300 per minute – tobacco companies used advertising to encourage mass consumption of this product and a national cigarette-smoking habit was born.
Pictures of glamorous film stars, Victorian gentlemen and smoky singers illustrate that smoking had become an integral part of everyday life; the government used cigarettes in public information campaigns, tiny toy cigarettes were made for doll’s houses and the House of Commons had their own brand of smokes.
Curator Meriel Jeater says, ‘London has been a centre of the tobacco trade and consumption for 400 years and this topical display will look at how attitudes to smoking have altered over this time. The recent ban on smoking in public places is causing widespread changes and this display will showcase Londoners’ opinions on the ban and how it is affecting their city.
For some people the new legislation is the final prompt they needed to quit smoking. For others it is ruining their businesses. We want to know what Londoners think.’
Following the discovery that smoking was linked to diseases such as lung cancer it soon became clear that smoking was seriously bad for your health. Slowly attitudes towards smoking began to change and the display highlights an emergence of anti-smoking campaigns; from the health warnings on cigarette packets to the introduction of a smoking ban. A ban would certainly help protect the health of those around the smokers but would it help smokers break their habit?
The Big Smoke runs from 1 July to 21 September 2008 and is free.
Notes to editors
- For more information or images, please contact Stacey Witter on 020 7814 5511 or switter@museumoflondon.org.uk
- Museum of London is one of the largest urban museums in the world. It is currently redeveloping its lower galleries to retell the story of London and Londoners from 1666 to the present day. The £20.5 million project will revitalize the galleries and create a glass window overlooking London Wall. The new galleries will open in spring 2010 with significantly increased access to the Museum’s collections, both in the galleries and online, and will also include a new Clore Learning Centre, a theatre and The Sackler Hall containing an information and coffee point. Find out more about supporting this project at www.museumoflondon.org.uk
- Throughout the redevelopment work, visitors will continue to be able to discover the city's many incarnations in the London before London, Roman London, and Medieval London galleries, together with London's Burning, the Great Fire of London 1666, and a series of topical exhibitions. A full programme of activities and events for all ages, bringing London's past and present to life, will continue.