No-Nicotine Alliance
May 3rd, 2012 by bachmann
Established in 1924, the No-Nicotine Alliance sought the unequivocal elimination of smoking and tobacco products within the United States. The organization believed that its objective “could” and “would” be ultimately achieved through a U.S. Constitutional amendment. In order to gains support for their cause, the organization published a short pamphlet entitled “The burning shame of America :an outline against nicotine” to educate the public on the evils of tobacco. Delving much deeper into the tobacco issue than individual health consequences, the pamphlet points out larger national implications for tobacco usage, such as the adverse effects on the environment, agricultural economy, and morality . The rhetoric is over-the-top and sensational! The pamphlet also contains striking modern graphics by the artist/illustrator George Illian.
The rallying cry for the No-Nicotine Alliance:
Their vile smoke may make our eyes water, but it shall not
blind us to our Ideal. It may seep into our lungs, but it shall not
choke our noble cry to “Stomp out Nicotine forever!”
No shortage of hyperbole:
“Lucius Cooper, chief military expert of the No-
Nicotine Alliance, —says “I am convinced that the war would
have ended a year sooner if our troops had not used tobacco.
Only the fact that the Germans were also tobacco-drugged, it
being well-known that they smoke huge pipes with china bowls,
prevented them from victory over us.”
“But that any girl or lady, in the flush of health, should deliberately
put to her red lips the Judas kiss of Nicotine, gives us
pause.”
“The smoker is a bad citizen. He is a public nuisance, offending
his fellow-men. He should be sent to Coventry, or jail. This is
a “job” for our gallant blue-coated police everywhere.”
“But the worst of it is the smoky air that hangs about a house
where a habitual smoker hangs about. It gets into the lungs of
the whole family, prejudicing them to all kinds of diseases. It
makes it impossible for them to enjoy the pure air, the smells of
fair flowers, rubber plants, and ferns, the dainty perfumes that
mother sprays about her boudoir, the tantalising taste of good
cooking in the kitchen. In many smoking homes it becomes the
custom to open the windows at night to let out the vapors of
tobacco, thus exposing the whole family to the dangers of drafts
and the risky night air.”
"The butt by wanton smoker tossed has kindled many a holocaust."
"In one depraved New York cafe even the women smoke, they say."
- Description:
- Walsh, Richard J. The burning shame of America :an outline against nicotine. Mount Vernon, N.Y. : Printing House of W.E. Rudge, c1924.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:8634540
- Repository:
- Widener Library
- Institution:
- Harvard University
