History of commercial tobacco in the United States

Okay, kiddo. So a long, long time ago, before America was even a country, people in places like Mexico and the Caribbean would smoke and chew a plant called tobacco. When the Europeans came to America, they saw the Native Americans smoking and chewing tobacco and thought it was pretty neat. They started trading with the Native Americans for tobacco and pretty soon they were growing it themselves.

To make more money, some people started selling the tobacco they grew to other countries, like England. They also started processing and packaging the tobacco into things like cigarettes and chewing tobacco.

But as more and more people started using tobacco, doctors started realizing that it might not be very good for you. They found out that smoking tobacco could cause diseases like lung cancer and heart disease. Some people tried to warn others about the dangers of tobacco, but many people still kept smoking and using it.

Over time, the government started regulating tobacco more and more. They made laws to restrict advertising and sales of tobacco to minors. They even put warnings on cigarette packs to let people know that smoking could be harmful to their health.

Today, many people still use tobacco, but fewer than in the past. People are more aware of the risks and a lot of places have laws against smoking in public areas. So while tobacco is still around, it's not as popular or widely accepted as it used to be.