"Tobacco, divine, rare, superexcellent tobacco, which goes far beyond all their panacetas, potable gold, and philosophers' stones, a soveraign remedy to all diseases. A good vomit, I confesse, a vertuous herb, if it be well qualified, opportunely taken, and medicinally used; but, as it is commonly abused by most men, which take it as tinkers do ale, 'tis a plague, a mischief, a violent purger of goods, lands, health, hellish, divelish and damned tobacco, the ruine and overthrow of body and soul."
The duty on importation had been only twopence per pound, a moderate sum in view of the prices realized by the sale of it.
The King now increased it to the enormous sum of two shilling and ten pence. James termed the custom of using tobacco an "evil vanitie" impairing "the health of a great number of people their bodies weakened and made unfit for labor, and the estates of many mean persons so decayed and consumed, as they are thereby driven to unthriftie shifts only to maintain their gluttonous exercise thereof."[46] Brodigan says of the "Counterblast:"
"However absurd his reasoning may appear, it unfortunately happened that he possessed the power to reduce his aversion to practice, and he may be considered as the author of that unwarrantable persecution of the tobacco plant, which under varying circumstances, has been injudiciously continued to the present time."
Other royal haters of the plant issued the most strenous laws[47] and affixed penalties of the severest kind, of these may be mentioned the King of Persia, Amuroth IV. of Turkey, the Emperor Jehan-Gee and Popes Urban VIII. and Innocent XII., the last of whom showed his dislike to many other customs beside that of tobacco taking.
One of the edicts which he issued was against the taking of snuff in St. Peters, at Rome; this was in 1690; it was, however, revoked by Pope Benedict XIV., who himself had acquired the indulgence.
Punishment for Snuff Taking.
Early in the Seventeenth Century tobacco found its way to Constantinople. To punish the habit, a Turk was seized and a pipe transfixed through his nose.