People have always smoked, and they probably always will. Every culture in recorded history has smoked something, whether for pleasure or relief, whether as part of an elaborate religious ritual or merely to strike a pose. This is the first truly comprehensive history of smoking, describinbg all of its forms, practices, paraphernalia and materials, in cultures, locations and times throughout the world.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to historic and contemporary efforts to regulate tobacco and reduce the staggering number of people who die from using tobacco products. With calls for greater government regulation of tobacco culminating in the historic June 2009 passage of federal antismoking legislation, Tobacco could not be more timely. It is the most authoritative and accessible volume available on the evolution of tobacco consumption as well as efforts to protect consumers from its dangers. Tobacco focuses on five key issues: tobacco excise taxation and health policy; the often misleading advertising of cigarettes and "low tar/nicotine" alternatives; the role of the Food and Drug Administration in regulating tobacco; education and prevention efforts aimed at children and teens; and environmental tobacco health risks, including second hand smoke. It is an eye-opening introduction to the entire history of efforts to regulate tobacco—from its beginnings in the Progressive Era of the early 20th century to recent efforts to uncover suppressed medical reports, ban smoking ads, and get smoking out of the movies.

Praise for the previous edition:

With more than 30.000 entries The A-Z Enczclopedia on Alcohol and Substance Abuse is the most complete and comprehensive reference book in the field of Substance Abuse. A useful handbbok and working tool for drug abuse professionals. The Encyclopedia is produced in close co-operation with the ICAA, International Council on Alcohol and Addictions, since its inception in 1907 the world's leading professional non-governmental organisation working with drug-abuse related issues.

Medical practitioners and the ordinary citizen are becoming more aware that we need to understand cultural variation in medical belief and practice. The more we know how health and disease are managed in different cultures, the more we can recognize what is "culture bound" in our own medical belief and practice. The Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology is unique because it is the first reference work to describe the cultural practices relevant to health in the world's cultures and to provide an overview of important topics in medical anthropology. No other single reference work comes close to marching the depth and breadth of information on the varying cultural background of health and illness around the world. More than 100 experts - anthropologists and other social scientists - have contributed their firsthand experience of medical cultures from around the world.

Ethical issues in modern medicine are of great concern and interest to all physicians and health-care providers throughout the world, as well as to the public at large. Jewish scholars and ethicists have discussed medical ethics throughout Jewish history.

"From adjusted gross income to zoning and property taxes, the second edition of The Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy offers the best and most complete guide to taxes and tax-related issues. More than 150 tax practitioners and administrators, policymakers, and academics have contributed. The result is a unique and authoritative reference that examines virtually all tax instruments used by governments (individual income, corporate income, sales and value-added, property, estate and gift, franchise, poll, and many variants of these taxes), as well as characteristics of a good tax system, budgetary issues, and many current federal, state, local, and international tax policy issues. The new edition has been completely revised, with 40 new topics and 200 articles reflecting six years of legislative changes. Each essay provides the generalist with a quick and reliable introduction to many topics but also gives tax specialists the benefit of other experts' best thinking, in a manner that makes the complex understandable. Reference lists point the reader to additional sources of information for each topic. The first edition of The Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy was selected as an Outstanding Academic Book of the Year (1999) by Choice magazine."--Publisher's website.