Tobacco history Timeline

A tobacco history timeline published today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation showcases a decrease in smoking among adults, from 42.2 percent in 1965, shortly after the release of the first Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health in 1964, to about 18 percent today. More than just a repository of changes in smoking rates over the years, 50 Years of Tobacco Control is an interactive look at the events and actions that have prevented more than eight million premature deaths in the ongoing fight to keep communities safe from the dangers of tobacco.

The timeline offers interviews with today’s tobacco control leaders—people such as John Sefrin, the Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society, and Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids—who have made enormous strides in tobacco control and have a bold vision for tobacco reduction in the future. While scrolling through the major tobacco control milestones of the last 50 years, viewers can examine historical cigarette advertisements, reports and photos.

The Tobacco Timeline is an excellent resource for understanding the last 50 years of tobacco control, as well as the ambitious goals that health advocates have set for the future. While eight million premature tobacco-related deaths have been prevented by tobacco control efforts, up to 20 million have been lost in the same time frame.

Although smoking rates have dramatically declined, there is much more to the story. At a White House event to release the new Surgeon General’s report, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius shared some urgent facts from the report, including the projection that approximately 5.6 million American children alive today—or one out of every 13 children under age 18—will die prematurely from smoking-related diseases unless current smoking rates drop.”