"From early 1900's to 1960's the cigarette was a cultural icon of sophistication, glamour and sexual allure-a highly prized commodity for one out of two Americans" -Allan Brandt (Harvard University)
Frank Sinatra lighting a cigarette in NYC (Library of Congress, 1944)
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Throughout the 1900s, cigarettes grew into a necessity among young pop culture icons conveying a certain "coolness" previously unknown to American society. |
Commonplace in America
In the 1930s many Americans began smoking cigarettes. As no negative health effects were immediately shown, the notion that cigarettes were harmless became widespread.
However, by 1950, lung cancer had become the most common cancer diagnosed in American men.
However, by 1950, lung cancer had become the most common cancer diagnosed in American men.
(American Cancer Society)
Cigarette use was the norm in the early 1960s. People often smoked in offices, restaurants, airplanes and hospitals, and it was common for cigarette companies to advertise in mainstream media as well as children's cartoons.
"Children grow up in a world that regards smoking as the mark of adulthood, so that to show their virility and grown-up-ness, they smoke." -J. Willig, NY Times, 1954
