Silliness"
No, it isn't. Coca-Cola's founder, Robert Woodruff, wanted "to see that every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for five cents, wherever he is, and whatever it costs the company."
He might have done this out of patriotism but the end result was that the USA became a nation of Coke drinkers. Because he got them habituated to using his product.
Most American GIs in WWI had never smoked a factory-rolled cigarette before the war. But the cigarette companies saw to it that they were plentiful. And nobody smoked 40 cigs a day before they could buy them machine-rolled.
In the late 19th Century only 1% of cancers found during autopsies were of the lung. By the Roaring 20s (by which time factory-rolled cigs were commonplace) that number was 14%.
In WWII Cigarette manufacturers sent free cigarettes to GIs overseas and ran adverts in the US encouraging civilians to do the same. And the companies who sent the most 'free' cigs to the GIs had the biggest increases in sales after the war. It was great advertising and great ROI.
The world has been smoking tobacco since Sir Walter Raleigh carried it to England but between 1852 and 1952, the per capita occurrence of lung cancer went from 0.3% to 5.66% of the overall population, a 19-fold increase, which brackets the invention of the cigarette rolling machine (ca. 1880) and both World Wars.
I agree. I believe cigarette use didn’t increase until the introduction of mass-produced factory-made cigarettes. Before then, tobacco use was largely via chewing tobacco and cigars. Men working outdoors could chew and spit. Gentlemen lounging indoors would light a cigar. I think WWI introduced a generation of American men to safety razors, undershirts, and cigarettes. WWII solidified it.
“He might have done this out of patriotism but the end result was that the USA became a nation of Coke drinkers. Because he got them habituated to using his product.”
Before 1955, Coke was sold in 6.5 oz bottles. A 12 oz bottle was introduced in 1955, and the 12 oz cans in 1960. No one was addicted to Coke. The “Big Gulp” was introduced by 7/11 in 1976.
the USA became a nation of Coke drinkers