Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States

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Cover page of the report

Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States (German: "Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Sanitary Inspector of the United States") is a fundamental report on the negative health effects of tobacco smoking . The report was published on January 11, 1964 by the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health, which was chaired by then Surgeon General Luther Leonidas Terry . While it was not the first such announcement by a United States official , the report is exceptional in that it has had enduring and far-reaching effects on the tobacco industry and global smoking perception.

background

The health effects of tobacco have been debated by smokers, medical experts and governments alike since its introduction into European culture. Clear evidence of the ill health effects of smoking was evident from the results of several long-term studies conducted between the early and mid-20th centuries. On June 12, 1957, then Surgeon General Leroy Burney stated that it was the "official position of the US Public Health Service" that the evidence indicated a "causal link between smoking and lung cancer." This statement was followed by a committee of the Royal College of Physicians in Great Britain , which published a report on March 7, 1962, which "clearly saw cigarette smoke as a cause of lung cancer and bronchitis " and stated that it may also contribute to cardiovascular diseases . Under pressure from the American Cancer Society , the American Heart Association , the National Tuberculosis Association, and the American Public Health Association, President John F. Kennedy authorized Surgeon General Terry to form an advisory committee. The committee met from November 1962 to January 1964 and analyzed over 7,000 scientific articles and papers.

Results

The results of the report focused almost exclusively on the negative health effects of cigarettes. The report stated:

The report also recognized:

Like the World Health Organization at the time, the committee defined smoking cigarettes as “ habituation ” rather than an overwhelming “ addiction ”, possibly due to the fact that the committee members themselves were smokers. The members of the committee, like most Americans, believed that quitting smoking was in principle possible. In the years following the Surgeon General's report, millions of Americans successfully made choices to quit, with between two-thirds and three-quarters of those people giving up smoking without the help of nicotine substitutes. In addition, cold withdrawal has long been considered the most effective method of quitting. In 1989, however, Surgeon General C. Everett described co-op cigarette smoking as an "addiction" rather than a habit, and this change of course was received controversially.

Effects

The publication of the report had a wide impact on the United States and the world. The report was purposely published on a Saturday to minimize negative impact on the American stock market and to maximize coverage in Sunday newspapers . It led to a change in political and public opinion on smoking and, as a result, warnings and restrictions on the advertising of cigarettes. It also led to large anti-smoking campaigns.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Terry, Luther et al .: Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States. U-23 Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. In: Public Health Service Publication number 1103 . 1964, PDF
  2. ^ A b c d National Library of Medicine: The Reports of the Surgeon General , accessed February 4, 2012
  3. ↑ Office of the Surgeon General: Luther Leonidas Terry (1961-1965) ( Memento of the original of September 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 4, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.surgeongeneral.gov
  4. ↑ Joel Spitzer: The Surgeon General says ... (MP3; 5.8 MB), WhyQuit.com, accessed February 4, 2012
  5. ↑ Simon Chapman , Ross MacKenzie: The Global Research Neglect of Unassisted Smoking Cessation: Causes and Consequences , PLoS Medicine , Public Library of Science 2010 ( article ) doi: 10.1371 / journal.pmed.1000216 , PMC 2817714 (free full text), PMID 20161722
  6. ↑ Jacob Sullum: For Your Own Good: The Anti-Cigarette Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health , pp 234-235, The Free Press 1998, ISBN 978-0684827360

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