There was a time most everyone smoked. Everyone smoked everywhere; offices, supermarkets, libraries. Smoking was a rite of passage – a sign of maturity – a sign of being cool. It never occurred to anyone in a million years that smoking could lead to serious health problems. How could that be? You saw it on TV, you heard it on the radio, you read it in magazines; nine out of ten doctors smoked Lucky’s – being a smoker was good for your nerves, made you more sociable, helped you think.
If you were to believe the media, smoking was practically healthy, and the more you smoked, the better off your life would be.
So you developed a cough – change brands, smoke filtered cigarettes, switch to Menthol (because someone told you smoking a menthol cigarette was actually good for a cold).
And even though you had to be 18-21 to buy cigarettes – everybody got around it by getting them from a machine – and cigarette machines were everywhere.
As a teenager, the only place you actually couldn’t smoke was in school, but there was always a way around that; some corner on campus, tucked away from teachers and vice-Principals, you’d gather in clusters; lighting up and blowing smoke-rings – nodding and comparing nicotine-stained fingers. You could smell it a mile away, but even Teachers had their lounges where a few quick puffs between classes helped the day go along.
It wasn’t until the mid-1960s that researchers and scientists started putting two and two together and coming up with Marlboro as one of the culprits in the spiraling number of deaths related to lung Cancer started coming to light.
In 1964 the American Medical Association published their findings in what was probably the first public acknowledgement of a link between Cigarette smoking and Cancer. It only went downhill from there. But it took time. By 1970 Cigarette ads were banned from TV, Radio and newspapers and what was once a symbol of coolness now became a sign of danger. It would be almost another 20 years before cigarette smoking was banned in most public places.
We’ve gone from an environment where you wouldn’t think twice about lighting up to an environment where the dwindling number of smokers are regarded as pariahs and carriers of “Second Hand smoke”.
In September 1962, the issue of teenagers smoking was becoming a concern from most parents and adults. So CBS News ran a documentary on The Teenager Smoker, looking for clues and answers and some solution to what could be a serious problem.
From September 19, 1962 – CBS Reports with Harry Reasoner – The Teenage Smoker.
