Historical

Fact Sheet

• Cigarettes were first introduced in the United States in the early 19th century. Before this, tobacco was used primarily in pipes and cigars, by chewing, and in snuff.¹

• By the time of the Civil War, cigarette use had become more popular. Federal tax was first imposed on cigarettes in 1864. Shortly afterwards, the development of the cigarette manufacturing industry led to their quickly becoming a major U.S. tobacco product.¹

• At the same time, the populist health reform movement led to early anti-smoking activity. From 1880-1920, this activity was largely motivated by moral and hygienic concerns rather than health issues.¹

• The milder flue-cured tobacco blends used in cigarettes during the early 20th century made the smoke easier to inhale and increased nicotine absorption into the bloodstream.¹

• During World War I, Army surgeons praised cigarettes for helping the wounded relax and easing their pain.¹

• Smoking was first linked to lung cancer and other diseases in the late 1940s and early 1950s.¹

• In 1956, a Surgeon General’s scientific study group determined that there was a causal relationship between excessive cigarette smoking and lung cancer.¹

• In England, the 1962 Royal College of Physicians report emphasized smoking’s causative role in lung cancer.¹

• On January 11, 1964, the first-ever Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health concluded that cigarette smoking is a cause of lung cancer in men.²

• In 1965 Congress passed the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act requiring health warnings on all cigarette packages.³

• In 1967 the Federal Communications Commission ruled that the Fairness Doctrine applies to cigarette advertising and that radio and television stations broadcasting cigarette commercials must donate equal air time to anti-smoking messages.³

• Anti-smoking messages had a significant impact on cigarette sales; however, when cigarette advertising on television and radio was banned in 1969, anti-smoking messages were discontinued.¹

• The 1972 Surgeon General’s report became the first of a series of science-based reports to identify environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) as a health risk to nonsmokers.¹

• In 1973 Arizona became the first state to restrict smoking in a number of public places explicitly because ETS exposure is a public hazard.¹

• By the mid-1970s, the federal government began administratively regulating smoking within government domains. In 1975, the Army and Navy stopped including cigarettes in rations for service members. Smoking was restricted in all federal government facilities in 1979 and was banned in the White House in 1993.¹

• In 1988 Congress prohibited smoking on domestic commercial airline flights scheduled for 2 hours or less. By 1990, the ban was extended to all commercial U.S. flights.¹

• In 1992 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified ETS as a "Group A" carcinogen, the most dangerous class of carcinogen.¹

• In 1994 six major U.S. cigarette manufacturers testified before Congress that nicotine is not addictive and that they do not manipulate nicotine in cigarettes.⁴

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner David A. Kessler, M.D., testified before a congressional subcommittee in 1994 that cigarettes may qualify as drug-delivery systems, bringing them within the jurisdiction of the FDA. The following year, Dr. Kessler declared tobacco use a "pediatric disease." ⁴

• In 1994 Mississippi became the first state to sue the tobacco industry to recover Medicaid costs for tobacco-related illnesses, settling its suit in 1997. A total of 46 states eventually filed similar suits. Three other states settled individually with the tobacco industry — Florida (1997), Texas (1998), and Minnesota (1998).^1,4

• In 1995 the Department of Justice reached an agreement with Philip Morris to remove tobacco advertisements from the line of sight of television cameras in sports stadiums to ensure compliance with the federal ban on tobacco ads on television.⁴

• On August 23, 1996, President Clinton announced the release of the FDA’s rule regulating tobacco sales and marketing aimed at minors.⁴

• In 1996 the Liggett Group, the smallest of the nation’s five major tobacco companies, offered to settle a class action suit by taking financial responsibility for tobacco-related diseases and death for the first time.⁴

• In 1996 the FDA approved nicotine gum and two nicotine patches for over-the-counter sale to increase their availability to smokers who want to quit. The U.S. Public Health Service released its Smoking Cessation Clinical Practice Guidelines for Clinicians.⁴

• On June 20, 1997, all major U.S. tobacco companies signed an agreement that would have restricted tobacco advertising, put cigarettes and chewing tobacco behind retail counters, restricted smoking in public places, and created a national education campaign. This settlement would have required the tobacco industry to expend $360 billion over 25 years. The June 1997 settlement required Congressional approval; however, this was never approved.^6,7

• On April 1, 1998, the Senate Commerce Committee voted in favor of the McCain bill, which gave complete authority to the FDA to regulate nicotine as a drug. It also raised the cigarette tax by $1.10 per pack and mandated penalties for the industry if specific targets for reducing youth smoking levels were not met. The bill was defeated by the full Senate in June 1998.⁵

• On November 23, 1998, the tobacco industry approved to a 46-state Master Settlement Agreement, the largest settlement in history, totaling nearly $206 billion to be paid through the year 2025. The settlement agreement contained a number of important public health provisions.¹

• In April 1999, as part of the Master Settlement Agreement, the major U.S. tobacco companies agreed to remove all advertising from outdoor and transit billboards across the nation. The remaining time on at least 3,000 billboard leases, valued at $100 million, was turned over to the states for posting anti-tobacco messages.¹

• On March 21, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly affirmed a 1998 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and ruled that the FDA lacks jurisdiction under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to regulate tobacco products. As a result, the FDA’s proposed rule to reduce access and appeal of tobacco products for young people became invalid.¹

• In July 2000 a Florida jury ordered the tobacco industry to pay $145 billion in punitive damages to sick Florida smokers. The tobacco industry is appealing verdict.

REFERENCES

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing Tobacco Use: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000.
    
2. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service. Washington: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, 1964. PHS Publication No. 1103.
    
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing the Health Consequences of Smoking: 25 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1989. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health. Significant Developments Related to Smoking and Health.
    
4. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Special Reports Year in Review 1998.* 
    
5. USA Today. Tobacco Settlement: Tobacco chronology.
   http://www.usatoday.com/news/smoke/smoke26.htm*
    
6. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Special Reports Year in Review 1997.
    
7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS News, Tobacco Billboards Replaced with Pro-Health Messages, 1999.
    

Privacy Policy | Accessibility

TIPS Home | What's New | About Us | Site Map | Contact Us

CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z

This page last reviewed May 14, 2004

United States Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office on Smoking and Health