1900: Asthma cigarettes (advertisement)

The asthma cigarette craze began in the 1880s and was full force by the year 1900. The following was a classified advertisement placed in a newspaper in 1900.

Asthma Cigarettes------

(W.B.C. Cleveland Ohio)  The following formula is one that the writer has used for several years occasionally, and has found effective and not unpleasant, provided that the cigarettes are used not to frequently, or to excess:

• Strammonium leaves.....................8 parts
• Green tea leaves............................8 parts
• Lobella Leaves..............................6 parts
• Plantain leaves.............................2 parts

Mince the leaves to a condition suitable to rolling in cigarette form, and moisten the mixture with cold saturated solution of potassium nitrate in water, dry thoroughly, and pack in air tight cans or jars.  Lavel "Asthma Cigarette" mixure.  Directions:  When an attack of asthma is imminent take sufficient of the mixture to make one or two cigarettes of the ordinary size, roll in cigarette paper, and smoke slowly, inhaling the smoke as deeply as possible.  If relief is not afforded by the first, a second cigarette should be used.

There were many advertisements like this in various newspapers and magazines around the United States and Europe.  So if you had asthma during this era you had many opportunities to learn about the benefits of such products, whether home made as this one was, or sold by various for profit companies.

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