Part of the 2023 Research Culture event series

The use and trade of tobacco has a long and complex history, and is intertwined with a number of national and global social issues. Britain’s colonial history and links between slavery and the tobacco trade, and Bristol’s role as a major colonial port, needs to be remembered for the lessons we can learn from the past. Similarly, as recently as the 1950s tobacco was both recommended and endorsed by doctors. The history of tobacco provides an insightful and though-provoking perspective on the past, but also a reminder that what is uncontroversial today may be viewed very differently in the future.

We are delighted to be joined by experts in the field including: Ian Tyrrell, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of New South Wales, who brings a wealth of expertise and academic insight into the sociopolitical history of tobacco use, advertising and subsequent health reforms, and Patricia Nez Henderson, a University of Yale alumna and indigenous North American scholar, who became the first indigenous President of the Society for Research on Nicotine or Tobacco.

Join us to learn about:

• Tobacco as a sacred product, and its colonization
• The social history of tobacco
• The (re)discovery of tobacco’s harms and subsequent education campaign

Attendees will also have the opportunity to join the conversation during an interactive panel discussion with our experts.

Full panel

• Ian Tyrrell - Emeritus Professor of History at the University of New South Wales
• Patricia Nez Henderson - Vice-President, Black Hills Center for American Indian Health
• Virginia Berridge - Professor of History and Health Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• George Davey Smith - Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Bristol
• Marcus Munafo - Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research Culture and Professor of Biological Psychology, University of Bristol

Register for your free place