Anniversary of the Surgeon General's First Report on Smoking and Health

On January 11, 1964, the Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service released "Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service." Over the decades, the reports of the Surgeon General have alerted the nation to health risks of smoking and changed the issues from consumer choice to scientific study and research that investigates factors linked to smoking.

Key Timeline Events Over the Years

• 1957 - Surgeon General Leroy Burney stated the official position of the U.S. Public Health Service that there is a causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer.
• 1961 - A Letter was addressed to President John F. Kennedy from an alliance of health organizations requesting a commission on smoking be formed to find a solution to this health issue.
• 1962 - 1964 - Meetings were held on the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland with over 150 consultants to review scientific articles on smoking and health.
• 1964 - Surgeon General Luther L. Terry issued "Smoking and Health", the first Surgeon General's report to receive widespread media and public attention.
  (Image depicts the U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry at a press conference addressing the release of the 1964 Report on Smoking and Health, Source: National Institutes of Health)
  
• 1965 - The Public Health Service established the National Clearinghouse for Smoking and Health which was later succeeded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health.
• 1965 - The Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 282*) required that the warning “Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health” be placed in small print on one of the side panels of each cigarette package.
• 1968 - The Office of the Surgeon General was abolished and the position became an advisor to the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.
• 1969 - Congress passed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1969 (84 Stat. 87) which imposed a ban on cigarette advertising on television and radio after September 30, 1970.
• 1973 - Arizona passed the first state law designating separate smoking areas in public places.
1986 - The Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco and Health Education Act of 1986 (100 Stat. 30*) was passed to inform the public of any dangers to health resulting from the use of smokeless tobacco products.
• 1987 - The Office of the Surgeon General was reestablished.
• 1987 - An amendment to the Department of Transportation Appropriations Bill led to a smoking ban in 1988 on all domestic flights less than 2 hours, was extended to flights less than 6 hours in 1990, and to all domestic and international flights in 2000.
• 1992 - As mandated by the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1969, the report "Smoking and Health in the Americas" was prepared to explore the historical, social, economic, and regulatory aspects of smoking in the Western Hemisphere.
• 1992 - EPA placed passive smoke on its list of major carcinogens.
• 2000 - California became the first state to ban smoking in restaurants and bars.
• 2019 - The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act was amended raising the federal minimum age for the sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years.

*This links to a Statute Compilation, which is a compilation of the public law, as amended, and is an unofficial document and should not be cited as legal evidence of the law. Learn more.

Additional Article Sources and Resources

• Read related reports on the Timeline of all Tobacco Related Reports of the Surgeon General from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Check out the National Institutes of Health (NIH) website to view "Secondary Smoking, Individual Rights, and Public Space, Later reports on smoking and health."
• The CDC, Office on Smoking and Health provides information on smoking and tobacco use and provides access to the current year’s tobacco-related press releases, media statements, media transcripts, and links to facts and figures.
• See Tobacco Data and Statistics on the CDC website.
• View on GovInfo "Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2020 " by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).