January 11, 1964Reputable sourceWell documented
The 1964 Surgeon General's Report
On the timeline · around January 11, 1964 ·
What happened
After reviewing more than 7,000 studies, the U.S. Surgeon General's advisory committee concluded that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer and other serious diseases. Surgeon General Luther Terry released the report on a Saturday to soften the blow to the stock market.
Why it matters
It was the first widely publicised official recognition that smoking kills, and it triggered decades of warning labels, advertising limits and public-health campaigns.
Sources
- CDC. A History of the Surgeon General's Reports on Smoking and Health · Reputable source