Tobacco smoking – popularity and main trends on research

Each year smoking leads to the premature death of over 5 million people around the world. However, the tobacco industry took actions like introducing cigarettes which contain less nicotine and tar aimed at not only maintaining the old clientele, but also attracting a new one. The knowledge of the adverse health effects of smoking became widespread in the second half of the 20th century and changed attitudes towards smoking. In recent years, in many markets in the world a new device representing an alternative to tobacco products was introduced. Electronic cigarettes are designed to deliver nicotine into the respiratory system in the form of an aerosol. They have been gaining more and more popularity, as evidenced by the increase in the percentage of users as well as in the numbers of publications about them. Currently, opinions are divided and the e-cigarette has almost as many supporters as opponents. All this resembles the situation concerning conventional cigarettes in the 20th century. The aim of the study is to gather the most significant information concerning, on the one hand, the spreading popularity of tobacco smoking and, on the other, the research topics undertaken by contemporary scientists, as well as the government actions meant to protect from dangers of nicotine addiction in the 20th and 21st century. New developments of products containing this highly addictive substance call for systematic research in the interest of public health.