Kicking butts: more than 50 years of progress
Take a look at 10 anti-smoking milestones since the first Surgeon General’s report.
Jan, 2026
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Slide 1
Cigarettes were in fashion long before we knew they could kill. Civil War soldiers rolled their own on the battlefields, movie stars puffed away in classic films, everyday Americans lit up at the breakfast table. But in the 1950s, news started to emerge about the health risks of smoking—and attitudes began to change. Here’s a look at 10 anti-smoking efforts since then that have helped save millions of lives.
Written byMichael Gollust.
Medically reviewed byJoanne Perron, MD.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A History of the Surgeon General’s Reports on Smoking and Health. May 15 + 15
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A History of the Surgeon General’s Reports on Smoking and Health. May 15, 2024.
- Cole HM, Fiore MC. The war against tobacco: 50 years and counting. JAMA. 2014 Jan 8;311(2):131-2.
- National Library of Medicine. The 1964 Report on Smoking and Health. Accessed November 7, 2025.
- Page, Peter. Surgeon General’s Smoking and Health Turns 50. AJMC.com. December 13, 2013.
- Hiilamo H, Crosbie E, et al. The evolution of health warning labels on cigarette packs: the role of precedents, and tobacco industry strategies to block diffusion. Tob Control. 2014 Jan;23(1):e2.
- Minnesota House Research Department. Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act. June 1, 2022.
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Tobacco Use and the Military. February 28, 2025.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Use of FDA-Approved Pharmacologic Treatments for Tobacco Dependence. July 27, 2000.
- Hughes JR, Miller SA. Nicotine gum to help stop smoking. JAMA. 1984 Nov 23-30;252(20):2855-8.
- Office of Senator Dick Durbin. Durbin, Public Health Organizations Mark 25th Anniversary of Smoke-Free Commercial Flights. 2015.
- American Lung Association. Smokefree Air Laws. September 10, 2024.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2006 Surgeon General’s Report Triumphs and Tragedies. June 27, 2006.
- National Cancer Institute. “Light” Cigarettes and Cancer Risk. October 28, 2010.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2014 Surgeon General’s Report: The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress. July 27, 2023.
- Holford TR, Meza R, et al. Tobacco control and the reduction in smoking-related premature deaths in the United States, 1964-2012. JAMA. 2014 Jan 8;311(2):164-71.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tobacco Product Use Among Adults—United States, 2022. September 10, 2024.
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