Prosumption as Glocal History: Production and Consumption of Cigarettes in Egypt, 1890–1939

British American Tobacco (BAT) introduced mass machine production of cigarettes in Egypt. Yet, this chapter offers a counter-narrative to the simple technological trickledown from the centre to the periphery that is often associated with the spread of mass manufacturing of cigarettes worldwide. It documents a close intertwining of producers and consumers or prosumption in Egypt’s tobacco market, where BAT closely engaged with consumers through its local subsidiary Eastern Tobacco Company. Eastern’s success in monopolising mass production was not merely the result of the inexpensive output. Eastern had to adjust constantly and closely to changing consumers’ preferences in a market where, as economic conditions declined, consumers compromised on type and quality rather than on the quantity of their smoke. Such an exchange between a global innovation in cigarette production and local preferences in cigarette consumption illustrates the glocal integration of Egypt into the world economy during this period. The chapter draws on tobacco import statistics, business and economic reports, ethnographic evidence on smoking practices, and analysis of advertisements in the Egyptian press.