The Rise of Smoking in England..

Sir Walter Raleigh popularised pipe smoking, being in the publics eye so to speak, but he was not the first to introduce tobacco into the so called civilised society, a chap by the name of Sir John Hawkins was the first to bring a few leaves to Britain, the first authenticated English smoker was Ralph Lane who later became the First Governor of Virginia.
Raleigh was beheaded after losing Royal favour on the 28th October 1618, before the final chop he asked to smoke a bowl full of tobacco (I bet that was a long smoke), to this day it is commemorated by presenting the Chelsea Pensioners with Pipe and Tobacco at the Royal Hospital.

In the spring of 1558 Raleigh, who had been loaded by a grateful sovereign with honours of every kind, sent his cousin, Sir Richard Grenville, to Virginia to complete the occupation and establish order. On returning to England after the successful conclusion of his task Grenville left behind him 107 men under the command of Captain Lane, with instructions to make a thorough study of the country and its inhabitants, with a view to its further development. Among the party was Thomas Hariot, a mathematician by profession, Raleigh intimate friend and right hand, to whom, in conjunction with Grenville, the Admiral assigned the tasks of observing and reporting the progress of events in the colony, and also that of investigating anything new or worthy of note in the field of natural science. Harriet was particularly struck by the universal prevalence of pipe-smoking among the Indians, and on his return made a lengthy report to Raleigh on the subject. In this document, which was afterward printed, he describes the process, and remarks that smoke expels the superfluous moisture from the body and opens all the pores, with the result that the Indians enjoyed better health than the civilised English settlers. Such was the reverence in which the herb was held by the Indians that they believed the gods themselves used tobacco, consequently, they offered it up as a sacrifice, and when a storm was raging they would throw tobacco-leaves into the angry waves to propitiate the offended deities. "We ourselves," wrote Harriet, tried their way of inhaling the smoke, both during our stay in Virginia and after our return, and have had many rare and wonderful proofs of the beneficial effects of this plant, which to relate in detail would require a whole volume to itself.
He adds that the natives looked upon tobacco as a gift from the Great Spirit, bestowed upon them for their personal enjoyment.
The first attempt to found a colony in Virginia was, however, a complete failure. When Drake, in 1586, immediately after his return from his piratical adventures in the West Indies, went to the assistance of Virginia he found the colony in a lamentably condition. Governor Lane had not been able to come to a good understanding with the Indians, with whom is men soon found themselves in a constant war. Moreover, the colonists had to fight against disease, aggravated by improper feeding, with the result that those who still survived implored Drake to take them home in his ship, accordingly all the colonists, including Lane and Hariot, returned to England in 1586. In the year and a half they had spent in constant touch with the natives they had contracted the habit of smoking, and became so attached to it that they continued the practice after their return to England. Great was the astonishment of their countrymen at the sight of these pipe-smokers. Camden, the Court historian of Elizabeth's reign, describes tobacco as an evil-smelling vapour, and relates with amazement how the ex-colonists inhaled the smoke and expelled it through mouth and nostrils with insatiable avidity and apparent enjoyment, declaring that the practice kept them in good health.

Although tobacco and the potato were brought to England about the same time, the former at once attained to widespread popularity, whereas the cultivation of the potato had at first to be made compulsory, and a hundred years passed before it became general.

By the end of Elizabeth's reign smoking was general among all classes of society. It was especially the mark of the young man of passion, and Robert Burton, in his satirical enumeration of the accomplishments necessary to the perfect gentleman, ranks smoking with dancing, riding, hunting and card playing.

And so the age of smoking was with us in England, little did people suspect that tobacco-tippling would make such an impact on Society as the past and present now clearly shows.