Smoking Advertisements c. early 1900s

Ireland made history when the smoking ban was brought into effect on 29th March 2004. Public opinion was split and many thought the ban would never work, however, the smoking ban was a huge success and many more countries have followed Ireland’s lead.

Tighter controls on advertising and sales of tobacco products have also been introduced but back in the late 1800s and early 1900s tobacco cards and advertising were seen as new and exciting.

Cigarette cards were seen as a means of informing and amusing the public, a way to add a little bit of colour before the era of newspaper photography or the links between tobacco and cancer were first explored.

Here are some examples of tobacco advertising we have in our collection, no-one can be certain what other everyday products will fall from favour during future years …