Smoking in Canada in the Early 20th Century

The Moral Panic: Cigarettes as “The Devil’s Rolls”

At the turn of the 20th century, cigarettes were widely regarded as a threat to public morality, especially among English-Canadian reformers. The discourse around smoking was deeply intertwined with class and gender [citation:1][citation:6].

📊 The Alarming Statistics (1904)

• 📈 1899: 106,000,000 cigarettes manufactured in Canada
• 📈 1900: 123,000,000 cigarettes — 16% increase in one year
• 📈 1901: 125,000,000 cigarettes
• 📈 1902: 138,000,000 cigarettes
• 📈 1903: 178,000,000 cigarettes — a 40 million increase over 1902

According to historians, cigarette smoking had special symbolic meanings for those “relatively disenfranchised from mainstream civic order and respectability” — particularly working-class male youths [citation:1][citation:6]. The cigarette became a symbol of rebellion and delinquency, while the cigar remained the respectable smoke of middle and upper-class men.

🎭 The “Performative” Possibilities of Smoking

Historian Sharon Anne Cook argues that after 1920, smoking represented “different terrors for those establishing and monitoring Canada’s civic norms, and different ‘performative’ possibilities for those contesting them” [citation:1][citation:6]. For marginalized groups, smoking was an act of resistance — a way to challenge respectability and assert identity.

The Prohibition Movement: Canada’s Failed Cigarette Ban (1903)

In 1903, the Canadian Parliament passed a resolution to prohibit the manufacture, importation, and sale of cigarettes — part of a North American wave of Progressive Era anti-smoking legislation [citation:9].

📜 The 1903 Resolution

• ✅ Passed by Parliament — but never enacted into law
• 🌍 International context: 15 U.S. states banned cigarette sales; 37 states considered prohibitory legislation [citation:9]
• 🤝 Progressive Movement influence: Cigarette prohibition was “part of the Progressive Movement” — special interest regulation aimed at altering public behavior [citation:9]
• 🗣️ Strongest opposition: French-Canadians offered the “most vociferous opposition” to the ban [citation:9]

⚔️ The Trust Issue

Adding to the anti-cigarette sentiment was growing public concern over monopolies. The American Tobacco Company (ATC) had formed a trust that gave it monopolistic control over the cigarette and tobacco market. Independent manufacturers appealed to consumers with slogans like “Not Made By A Trust” — a direct appeal to support smaller businesses against the powerful ATC [citation:8]. This anti-monopoly sentiment was felt in both the United States and Canadian markets.

The Rise of Cigarette Production (1919-1927)

Despite the moral panic, cigarette production exploded in the first three decades of the 20th century. Government statistics reveal the remarkable growth of the industry:

📊 Cigarette Production (in thousands) 1919-1927

📉 The Decline of Cigars and Chewing Tobacco

While cigarettes rose, other forms of tobacco declined [citation:3]:

• 🚬 Cigar production: Fell from 206.5 million (1919) to 171.1 million (1927) — a 17% decrease
• 🦷 Chewing tobacco: Declined from 7.4 million pounds (1919) to 5.7 million pounds (1927) — a 23% decrease
• 🍃 Smoking tobacco (pipe): Increased from 15.1 million pounds to 20.2 million pounds — but at a slower rate than cigarettes

World War I: The Turning Point

World War I (1914-1918) fundamentally changed how Canadians viewed cigarettes. According to historian Daniel Robinson, the war transformed cigarettes into patriotic “soldiers’ smoke” [citation:10].

🎖️ Cigarettes as Patriotic Gifts

• 📦 Cigarette funds: Canadians donated millions of cigarettes to soldiers overseas
• 🇨🇦 National pride: Smoking became associated with supporting “our boys” at the front
• 🔗 Bonding ritual: Sharing cigarettes in the trenches created powerful social bonds among soldiers
• 🏠 Post-war normalization: Returning soldiers brought home the cigarette habit, making it socially acceptable for a broader range of men

Class, Gender, and Respectability

Smoking in early 20th century Canada was deeply gendered and class-based.

👨 Working-Class vs. Bourgeois Smoking

• 🔴 Cigarettes: Associated with working-class male youths, delinquency, and moral decay
• 🟤 Cigars: The respectable smoke of bourgeois men — linked to connoisseurship and refinement [citation:2]
• 🎭 Rituals of manliness: How men smoked — their choice of product and manner of consumption — signaled their social position [citation:2]
• 🏛️ “Separating spheres”: The gendered division of public and private space shaped who could smoke where [citation:2]

👩 The Emergence of Women Smokers

• 🚫 Pre-1920: Smoking for respectable women was taboo; associated with actresses, prostitutes, or “loose” women
• 🌹 1920s transformation: After World War I, smoking began to attract middle-class male youths, adults, and even young women [citation:1][citation:6]
• 💄 Symbol of emancipation: By the mid-20th century, advertising and movies had made smoking acceptable for women — even a symbol of their liberation [citation:2]
• 📢 Performative act: For women, smoking in public was a “performative” act that challenged Victorian norms [citation:6]

Early Sports Sponsorship: Tobacco and Hockey

Tobacco companies were among the earliest sponsors of sports and cultural events in Canada [citation:4].

• 🏒 1932: Turret tobacco brand — oriented toward the blue-collar class — offered cash prizes to those correctly estimating NHL team goals [citation:4]
• 🏈 1930s: Sweet Caporal (Imperial Tobacco) sponsored the first Canadian football radio broadcasts [citation:4]
• 🎪 1903: Red Cross tobacco brand sponsored a high-wire act crossing Montmorency Falls in Quebec [citation:4]
• 🏑 Post-1900 growth: “Sponsorship of sports and cultural events has been a part of the promotional mix for Canadian tobacco manufacturers throughout the 20th century” [citation:4]

Cigar Boxes: The Art of Marketing

Between 1870 and 1920, cigar smoking was the most popular form of tobacco consumption in Canada [citation:5]. Hundreds of factories, large and small, operated from Victoria to the Maritimes, hiring local men, women, and even children to hand-roll cigars [citation:5].

📦 Government Regulation

• 🔖 1868: Ministry of Inland Revenue adopted the cigar box as a taxable unit — requiring revenue stamps to be wrapped entirely around boxes [citation:5]
• 📊 1883: Government legislated that cigars must be sold in wooden boxes holding 10, 25, 50, 100, or 200 cigars [citation:5]
• 🎨 1897: Manufacturers began naming their cigars and pasting colourful labels on inner lids — creating collectible art [citation:5]

From Early 20th Century to Today: Native Cigarettes

The early 20th century laid the foundation for Canada’s modern tobacco industry — including the corporate giants that would dominate for decades. Today, native cigarettes from Cigstore.ca offer an alternative:

• 🏭 Independent tradition: Independent tobacco manufacturers used slogans like “Not Made By A Trust” to appeal to consumers — a sentiment that resonates with today’s native cigarette buyers [citation:8]
• 💰 Affordable alternatives: At $29-55 per carton, native cigarettes are 70-80% cheaper than commercial brands
• 🪶 Indigenous-owned: Continuing a tradition of independent tobacco commerce that predates the corporate trusts
• 📦 Legal and available: Native cigarettes remain available regardless of corporate consolidation — true to the anti-trust spirit of the early 1900s