Author Description

This book considers the rhetoric, practices and the public policy context of three major 20th century anti-cigarette campaigns in China, set up to counter the use and abuse of tobacco. Investigating the origin of these campaigns, which occurred at a time when no evidence proved the link between smoking and health problems, it notably considers to what extent western medical discourse played a role in anti-cigarette rhetoric, and how these campaigns were embedded in politicized themes such as cultivating qualified citizens, saving the national and local economy, and maintaining public decorum. Bridging the gap between political history and social cultural history to illustrate the role of political mechanisms in people’s daily lives, this book considers cigarette smoking not only as an integral part of modern Chinese society but also as a cultural symbol with multiple meanings, illustrating how modern Western ideas such as nationalism, citizenship, public morality, international trade balance, national economy, and national well-being were advocated by Chinese elites and transformed from abstract concepts to concrete practices.