---
title: "How did smoking start?"  
description: "A brief explanation of the history of smoking and how it started"  
author: "Anjita D."  
published: 2023-10-03  
canonical: https://yourviews.mindstick.com/story/2749/how-did-smoking-start  
category: "science and history"  
tags: ["smoke", "smoking", "facts", "general knowledge", "history"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# How did smoking start?

![How did smoking start](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/cbaaf7c6-b1dc-4e47-be9d-7a1d9da4eae0/images/aa4be2d6-e413-4149-8f73-b5418c42f4aa.jpeg) ![How did smoking start](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/cbaaf7c6-b1dc-4e47-be9d-7a1d9da4eae0/images/8a236951-5239-4d6f-9425-21ff95787e07.jpeg) Smoking is said to have originated in Mesoamerica and South America around 5000-3000 BC. ![How did smoking start](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/cbaaf7c6-b1dc-4e47-be9d-7a1d9da4eae0/images/c6be9c7c-7a8a-4e48-a2cc-3dd993a61b2e.jpeg) Archaeological sites in Mexico and Peru have the earliest traces of smoking. Tobacco was smoked in religious ceremonies and for medical purposes. ![How did smoking start](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/cbaaf7c6-b1dc-4e47-be9d-7a1d9da4eae0/images/02ac4bd0-c9fa-49c4-957f-848f72cd0386.jpeg) One explanation holds that when individuals burned the plant, they unintentionally discovered the effects of tobacco smoke. ![How did smoking start](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/cbaaf7c6-b1dc-4e47-be9d-7a1d9da4eae0/images/dd820235-86df-4abb-9210-9aa5f7c8b09a.jpeg) Another argument is that humans smoked tobacco intentionally in order to experience its psychoactive effects. ![How did smoking start](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/cbaaf7c6-b1dc-4e47-be9d-7a1d9da4eae0/images/994018d2-72e3-4af9-99d4-e5bd1b4529f2.jpeg) In recent decades, there has been a growing awareness of the health risks associated with smoking, which has decreased in various countries.

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Original Source: https://yourviews.mindstick.com/story/2749/how-did-smoking-start

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