Folders
Recently Modified
Unlike his predecessor who held the papacy for 12 days, Pope Urban VIII reigned for 21 years. He prohibited the use of tobacco in holy places under the threat of excommunication in a 1624 decree. Supposedly, the excessive sneezing and grime from chewing tobacco felt disruptive and disrespectful.
In 1590, Pope Urban VII issued perhaps the first ban on smoking, threatening anyone with excommunication for using tobacco in or near a church. It covered smoking, chewing, or sniffing snuff. He died of malaria and holds the record for the shortest papacy in history: 12 days.