American businessman James Duke brought a turnaround to the cigarette industry. First of all, Duke advocates mechanized production. He spent a lot of money to purchase a Pensac cigarette making machine and asked engineers to improve it, increasing the speed of rolling cigarettes by 40 times, thus greatly reducing the cost of cigarettes. In addition, in order to change people's smoking habits, Duke invested a lot of resources in cigarette promotion. In 1889 alone, Duke spent $800,000 on cigarette advertising. Combining machine production with advertising and promotion, Duke's cigarette business grew rapidly and almost monopolized the U.S. tobacco industry.

After the 1920s, tobacco companies still spent a lot of money on marketing promotions, trying to portray cigarettes as a high-quality and low-priced enjoyment. For example, pilots are asked to draw cigarette brands with smoke over the city; writers are hired to write books to promote women's smoking etiquette.

Some brands even risk using publicity methods that mislead consumers to build a good brand image and reputation. Under the influence of public opinion propaganda, tobacco companies can attract millions of new smokers every year.

The tobacco and alcohol industry is too huge. Taking France in the early 20th century as an example, 5 million people relied on wine to make a living. And wheat, corn, etc. that can be used to make wine are major crops around the world. The scale of trade in various types of drugs continues to shrink, and their origins are very limited. In addition, alcohol and tobacco have long been integrated into mainstream culture. In modern society, many socialites are smoking and drinking, and leaders are not shy about smoking and drinking. Illegal drugs such as marijuana and cocaine are mainly used by marginalized people in society.

In its early stages, the drug trade accelerated primitive accumulation by Western powers. However, by the 20th century, drug abuse was increasing, and the attitude of those in power turned against drugs. In an era where precision operations are required, alcoholism and drug abuse are extremely harmful to the economy. At the same time, some business groups and middle classes who were unable to profit from the drug trade also began to rise. These factors are intertwined to promote the strengthening of drug control.

In the late 19th century, a large number of Qing citizens were addicted to opium, and the drug dumping by the great powers left the national treasury empty. Therefore, the Qing government issued strict laws to seize opium and boycott foreign imports. At the same time, parties opposed to the opium trade in Britain won the election, and governments of various countries signed conventions to control opium.