How did the 1964 US Surgeon General's report impact the tobacco industry?

How did the 1964 US Surgeon General's report impact the tobacco industry?

Linda Hyder Ferry (Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine and Family Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine) gives expert video advice on: How has the tobacco industry influenced American culture?; How did the 1964 US Surgeon General's report impact the tobacco industry?; How are tobacco control laws changing American culture? and more...

In the 1940s and 1950s, reports were coming out about new epidemiological and pathological findings that cigarette smoking was linked to an epidemic of new occurrences of diseases that were not seen in the 1800s. In 1964, the Surgeon General Dr. Luther Terry created a group of people heavily influenced by the tobacco industry and their lobby to create a document that embodied, at that time, what we knew about the effect of smoking. That document came out saying cigarette smoking is dangerous, that it increases the risk of heart disease, and is probably associated with cancer and lung disease. Since 1964, there have been at least 40 years of continued Surgeon General's reports where that office of the US government has taken on the issue, especially during the time of Dr. C. Everett Coop and the Reagan and Clinton era when the government supported active advertising against tobacco. I think that that landmark case in 1964 got the attention of the Americans. Men quit smoking right about that time in the early 60s and the rates began to decline. When you look at the rates of women, it was increasing right up until 1964 and the rate of smoking in women began to decline at that point in time. In the United States, at least, that really made an impact on the listening public that said "Hmm, maybe this is not just a fun thing to do, maybe this is not just a pleasurable habit?". The doctors, the government, and everyone is saying that this is risky behavior. Americans have been listening ever since.