Artifact Friday: Vintage Cigarettes

Habits can be hard to quit and with new year resolutions in full swing most of us have picked something to kick or a new goal to achieve. One of the most addicting habits, smoking, has had a significant history within the military. Today we focus on a package of Camel Turkish and Domestic Blend Cigarettes from World War II. This pack of cigarettes indicates a lot for the time period they came from. During World War I, cigarettes became a standard issue for soldiers on the front lines. Suddenly being included in K-rations, many believed cigarettes to be essential to the everyday lives of soldiers. This continued into World War 2 where this package of cigarettes originated from. Keeping morale, relieving stress, and masking odors became the primary use of cigarettes. They were also used as currency between soldiers and local populations for food or acts of service. The use of smoking became a standard to keep soldiers fighting which makes this artifact a particularly interesting one. The package that we have is a standard issued package of cigarettes during World War II and has a blue seal at the top. The seal itself worked as a federal tax stamp. This was required by the US for the manufacturer to use to indicate that federal excise tax had been paid. These packs of cigarettes were essential to the daily lives of soldiers who were fighting on the front lines. US military promotion of cigarettes and their partnership with tobacco companies kept the cigarette industry alive and well within the military. Health warnings, worsening conditions, and general distrust of smoking had not been common knowledge yet. In fact, health warnings on cigarette packages is a great indicator on what time period they came from. With no health warning on this package we can know that it was issued before 1966 when the first health warning mandate was issued on any and all cigarette packaging. Due to growing health awareness and the effects of smoking, the US military cut ties with tobacco companies in the late 1980s. After years of normalization and large access to cigarettes it is the consequence that tobacco usage is high among veterans. These types of habits are hard to kick but are worth it for your health. Sticking to new years resolutions can be hard but small and effective changes can make a difference and are a great way to start your year off right.