Surgeon General report on smoking 50 years ago was able to change minds, save lives.
Health advocates are marking the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Surgeon General report on smoking with a call for more aggressive action to protect people from tobacco.
That landmark report, along with subsequent Surgeon General reports on the addictive power of nicotine and the dangers of secondhand smoke, led to a sea change in the country’s attitude toward tobacco. Smoking rates have dropped by 59%, and many communities now ban smoking in public places.
No other single report has had this large of an effect on public health, says Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. <FULL STORY>
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