Tobacco has been one of the most influential and controversial crops since its first discovery by Europeans in 1492, when Columbus landed in America. It then spread among the Spanish colonists of Santo Domingo during the year 1531, shortly after Bartolomé de las Casas noticed that his fellow colonists were beginning to develop a strong dependence on it. Tobacco began to spread across Europe in the 16th century, quickly becoming the tobacco vice of many, but also transforming into what people believed to be a cure for many illnesses. King James I was the first to impose a tax on tobacco, while King Louis XIV was the first to regulate the distribution of the harvest. Overall, efforts to limit medical tobacco use failed across Europe once world leaders discovered its deadly side effects. In Turkey, the consequence for smoking in public was beheading, while in countries like Russia and Austria, a person could be fined, imprisoned, and tortured. King James I of England wrote about the addictive properties of tobacco and the damage caused to the lungs by prolonged use. The history of tobacco, however, has not always been so dark. When it was first discovered on American soil, Columbus and other settlers wrote personal accounts of seeing Indians smoking "dried leaves through a Y-shaped tube." It was closely observed that this crop was easy to grow, trade, and use for personal enjoyment. The tobacco economy in the early colonies was a cycle of demand for leaves, slave labor, a global industry that ultimately led to the rise of the Chesapeake. Consignment system, meaning American tobacco farmers would sell their crops to merchants in London while retaining ownership until the middle of paper... plenty for those who remained loyal customers. It was not until the 1950s that more and more evidence began to emerge that smoking was linked to lung cancer as well as other serious illnesses such as emphazema, heart disease, etc. . Tobacco advertisements were removed from store windows and television commercials and were quickly replaced. with anti-smoking campaigns and warnings claiming that tobacco consumption, in any form, could very well lead to the development of these serious diseases. Today, tobacco is the leading cause of death in the United States and has been for several decades. In conclusion, tobacco has been an extreme asset and an extreme harm to society, and it remains so today. The boost it gave to our economy endures as pollution, health problems and costly production continue to be a constant problem in our country and around the world..