The
The Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health:[1]
The report's conclusions were almost entirely focused on the negative health effects of cigarette smoking. It found:
In addition, it reported:
As did the World Health Organization during this period, but possibly influenced by the fact that they were all smokers themselves,[4] the Committee defined cigarette smoking as a "habituation" rather than an overpowering "addiction".[4] Committee members agreed with most Americans that this habit (though often strong) was possible for individuals to break.
In the years that followed the Surgeon General's report, millions of Americans successfully chose to quit smoking, with two-thirds to three-quarters of ex-smokers quitting unaided by nicotine replacement methods. In addition, the "cold turkey" (or sudden-and-rapid-cessation) method has been found to be the most successful in terms of stopping smoking over long periods of time.[5] However, in a controversial move in 1989, a later Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, M.D., shifted course and redefined cigarette smoking as "an addiction" rather than a habit.[6]
The report's publication had wide effects across the United States. It was deliberately published on a Saturday to minimize the negative effect on the American stock markets, while maximizing the coverage in Sunday newspapers.Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 and the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1969, which mandated warning labels on cigarettes and instituted a ban on the broadcasting of cigarette advertisements on radio and/or television.[7]