How did James Buchanan Duke and the American Tobacco Company expand cigarette sales?

James Buchanan Duke and the American Tobacco Company expanded cigarette sales primarily by revolutionizing production and employing aggressive business strategies.

Duke was an early adopter of the Bonsack machine, a mechanical cigarette roller that enabled the mass production of inexpensive cigarettes, shifting the product from an expensive luxury item to a widely accessible commodity. By utilizing this technology, Duke’s firm significantly lowered costs and increased output.1

Beyond manufacturing, Duke utilized aggressive marketing and advertising campaigns to promote his products, which helped displace traditional tobacco-chewing and pipe-smoking habits in the United States. Furthermore, he expanded his influence through corporate consolidation, using mergers and acquisitions to gain control of approximately 150 factories and effectively monopolize the American tobacco industry until the company was dissolved by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1911. Additionally, Duke pursued global expansion by forming the British-American Tobacco Company to market cigarettes internationally.123