With calls for greater government regulation of tobacco culminating in the historic June 2009 passage of federal antismoking legislation, "Tobacco" could not be more timely. It is the most authoritative and accessible volume available on the evolution of tobacco consumption as well as efforts to protect consumers from its dangers.

"Tobacco" focuses on five key issues: tobacco excise taxation and health policy; the often misleading advertising of cigarettes and "low tar/nicotine" alternatives; the role of the Food and Drug Administration in regulating tobacco; education and prevention...