Public Views on Cigarettes and health, Changed

Today, “everyone knows how bad smoking is, but it’s actually worse.” This statement comes from a discussion out of the Surgeon Generals report on The Health Consequences of Smoking in 2004. The main job of the Surgeon General is to educate the American people, and provide the best scientific information available on how to improve health and minimize the risk of illness and injury (Health). The Surgeon General has a long history in exposing the risks of tobacco use, and In 1964, Surgeon General Luther Terry released a groundbreaking study. Terry's study exposed the dangers of cigarette smoking and concluded that there was a causal relationship between smoking and three diseases. In releasing this information to the public, Terry knew he would have to call for a fundamental change in the way our country viewed tobacco at the time. In 1964, Smoking was quite popular and more than 42% of Americans smoked (Health). Up until then, people were generally un-aware of the health risks caused by cigarettes. A clear connection was made between cigarette smoke and health risks, and Luther Terry's report would become a stepping stone to new and future health discoveries.
Terry's report sparked an increased concern about tobacco that led to a broad-based anti-smoking campaign (Luther). Even after leaving the post in 1965, Luther Terry continued to play a leading role in the campaign against smoking. His report was responsible for passing the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 which mandated the familiar Surgeon General’s warning labels on cigarette packages. Terry also helped to obtain a ban on cigarette advertisements on radio and television which was put into effect in 1971 (Salter).

Another landmark event that affected the way we view cigarettes today was attributed to a man named Jeffery Wigand who was a top CEO at Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation. Wigand essentially exposed Big Tobacco and went public about inside information he knew about the company, and their scandal to illegally alter and raise nicotine levels put into cigarettes. He received death threats, and his coming out ultimately changed his life and the life of Big Tobacco. Wigand's confessions led to FBI investigations and as a result, tobacco companies ended up paying out billions of dollars in health costs (Salter). Jeffery Wigand has become a widely known figure in the fight for educating the public about the dangers of smoking.

These landmark events and two important individuals have made crucial contributions in informing the public the truths about tobacco use and cigarette smoking in our country today.

Works Cited:

Salter, Chuck. “Jeffrey Wigand: The Whistle-Blower.” Fast Company. (April 2002).
11 Feb. 2007.
<www.fastcompany.com/articles/2002/05/wigand_Printer_Friendly.html>

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking:
A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004. 9 Jan. 2007. Office of the Surgeon General.
5 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/news/speeches/SgrSmoking_05272004.htm>

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Luther Leonidas Terry (1991-1965).
4 Jan. 2007. Office of the Surgeon General. 5 Feb. 2007 <http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history/bioterry.htm

Picture Citations:

Peradotto, Nicole. JeffreyWigand.com. 6 Feb. 2007.
< http://www.jeffreywigand.com/insider/index.php>


U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Surgeongeneral.gov. 3 Jan. 2007. Office
of the Surgeon General. 6 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history/sglist.htm>