The Smoke of Heaven

The Smoke of Heaven - A Brief Historical Overview of Opium

Opium and its derivative drugs have played a role in Hong Kong since before the colony was established.

In this lecture we will discuss and evaluate the role played by the opium trade in the establishment of the British colony, its economic importance in the nineteenth century, gradual moves towards control prohibition, and the striking economic, legal and moral parallels that exist between the nineteenth century opium trade and the tobacco industry in the twenty-first century.

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