Washington's House Votes to Ban Cigarettes — and the Tobacco Trust Moves In
In 1893 the state House passed a prohibition on cigarette sales after a debate that mixed moral reform, monopoly fears and anti-Chinese prejudice. Lobbyists were already working the Senate.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The cigarette bill was the cause of earnest speeches in the House today, and also of a burlesque proceeding in which the irrepressible Mays was the leading figure. Mays wanted the provisions of the bill extended so as to include a prohibition of 'narcotics and stimulants,' but the other members refused to co-operate with him. When Smith of Douglas questioned the constitutionality of the bill because it prohibited the sale of cigarette paper, Mays agreed with him. Hoole, who is in the parlance of the lobby a 'josher,' gravely moved that the question as to the constitutionality of the measure be referred to the gentleman from Garfield. Speaker Arrasmith showed that he is something of a humorist himself by stating that 'If there are no objections the question will be so referred.' Mays caught the spirit of the reference and forthwith judicially declared that 'By virtue of the legal authority vested in me by the House of Representatives of the state of Washington, I decide this bill to be unconstitutional.'
Nash said he was glad that at last he was able to agree with Mays, there being no provision in the bill regarding the cigarette stock now in the hands of dealers.
Webb made an excellent impression by a speech in support of the bill. Being a wholesale dealer in tobaccos, he was able to furnish interesting information relative to the growth of the cigarette habit. He stated that last year his firm had sold 4,100,000 cigarettes and that the total number sold in the state during the year amounted to over 40,000,000. He described the methods adopted by the American Tobacco Company, a monster trust, to control the cigarette trade, and expressed the opinion that the bill would prove a double blessing, in keeping the company from operating in the state as well as in correcting the noxious cigarette habit.
Tucker said he was opposed to the cigarette trade because it promoted traffic with the Chinese. 'Take a cigar and be an American,' he announced as his motto.
Roscoe closed the debate in an earnest plea for the passage of his bill. He appealed to the House to protect the rising generation and to suppress a habit that even women and girls were becoming the victims of, and invited votes for it on reformatory and moral grounds. The bill passed the House by a good majority, but a strong effort is to be made by the tobacco interests to beat it in the Senate. Lobbyists are here to secure its defeat in that branch.
“By virtue of the legal authority vested in me by the House of Representatives of the state of Washington, I decide this bill to be unconstitutional.”
This 1893 fight over cigarette prohibition shows a familiar pattern: moral panic, public-health claims, monopoly anxiety and industry lobbyists all colliding in a state legislature. The debate also reveals how reform politics could be tangled up with anti-Chinese prejudice. Modern fights over flavored tobacco, vaping and cigarette taxes still play out in the same chambers.
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