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America's Complex History With Tobacco, From 'The Marlboro Man' To E-Cigarettes

The "Marlboro Man" on a billboard in Shea Stadium's center field in the 1990s. (Kevin Coughlin/AP)
The "Marlboro Man" on a billboard in Shea Stadium's center field in the 1990s. (Kevin Coughlin/AP)

Editor’s Note: Sarah Milov, assistant professor of history at the University of Virginia and author of the forthcoming book, “The Cigarette: A Political History,” provided extensive research material for historians Ed Ayers and Nathan Connolly. We did not attribute the research to Sarah in the original broadcast that aired. We apologize for the error.

This month, the state of Virginia raised the legal age to purchase tobacco products and e-cigarettes to 21. Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson talks with historians Nathan Connolly (@ndbconnolly) and Ed Ayers (@edward_l_ayers), co-hosts of the podcast “BackStory,” produced at Virginia Humanities, about America’s complex relationship with tobacco.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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