Surgeon General Links Smoking to Cancer: Health Revolution
Surgeon General Luther Terry deliberately released his committee's report on a Saturday to minimize stock market disruption, a decision that revealed just how explosive the findings were. The 387-page document compiled evidence from over 7,000 scientific articles linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. Tobacco stocks cratered on Monday morning. The industry had spent decades funding friendly research and running advertisements featuring doctors endorsing their brands. Terry's report demolished that facade. Within two years, Congress mandated warning labels on every cigarette package. Advertising restrictions followed. American smoking rates began a steady decline that continues today. The tobacco industry fought back with internal documents later revealed to show they had known about the cancer link for years and actively suppressed the evidence.
January 11, 1964
62 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on January 11
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