by Linda White

Created on: May 08, 2008

The issue of tobacco use and it's effects are not just limited to the smoker, but to those who are family, and in fact the community at large. The blatant issue of the tobacco companies misrepresentation and it's deception to the public makes this a multi sided issue.

Early in the forties and fifties, smoking was made out to be cool and the tobacco companies.In 1942 Brown and Williamson tobacco company stated that Kools would keep your head clear and give protection against colds. In 1943, Philip Morris places an ad in the National Medical Journal which reads: "'Don't smoke' is advice hard for patients to swallow. May we suggest instead 'Smoking Philip Morris?' Tests showed three out of every four cases of smokers' cough cleared on changing to Philip Morris. Why not observe the results for yourself?" In 1947,"Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)," Written by Merle Travis for Tex Williams, is national hit.1950: ADVERTISING: Lucky Strike's "Be Happy, Go Lucky" wins TV Guide's commercial of the year. (Cheerleaders sing: "Yes, Luckies get our loudest cheers on campus and on dates. With college gals and college guys a Lucky really rates.") The culture was bent that there were no health hazards to smoking.

In 1961,the presidents of the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the National Tuberculosis Association, and the American Public Health Association submit a joint letter to President Kennedy, pointing out the increasing evidence of the health hazards of smoking and urging the President to establish a commission. While in 1964, the Surgeon General's office was linking smoking to lung cancer, the American Medical association was accepting a $10 million dollar grant for tobacco research from six cigarette companies.That same year, The AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSN supports the tobacco industry's objection to labeling cigarettes as a health hazard, writes in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, "More than 90 million persons in the United States use tobacco in some form, and, of these 72 million use cigarettes... the economic lives of tobacco growers, processors, and merchants are entwined in the industry; and local, state, and the federal governments are recipients of and dependent upon many millions of dollars of tax revenue."

In 1965, Congress passes the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act requiring the Surgeon General's Warnings on cigarette packs. The next year, Congress votes to send 600 million cigarettes to flood disaster victims in

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