On this day, January 1, in 1971 – TV adverts for cigarettes stop in the USA.
Veronica Hamel was the model in the last[5] cigarette commercial televised in the U.S. (for Virginia Slims, aired at 11:59 pm on January 1, 1971, on The Tonight Show).[6] Hamel had been a model in print advertisements, not just for Slims, but also for Pall Mall Gold cigarettes.[7]
So there was presumably a prolonged battle to get cigarette advertising on television banned, presumably the Surgeon General and Republicans and Democrats together. This was back in the days when you could make the public health argument without being screamed down on grounds of free market capitalism, etc. Presumably, the tobacco companies argued freedom of speech/First Amendment rights.
On Veronica Hamel– fun fact, she had an uncredited cameo at the beginning of Klute – a film worth watching! Also played Joyce Davenport, public defender on Hill Street Blues.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were at 325 parts per million.
As of 2026 they are 428ppm at and rising rapidly. Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.
Btw, the point(s) of this project is …. the how, the who the hell am I and the what do I currently believe?
The context was that by the late 1960s the evidence that smoking was bad for your health was absolutely overwhelming. And states were still expected to protect their populations, even in the face of concerted efforts by vested interests. Ah, such innocent times…
Why care?
If you read old magazines (or fossick in digital archives as I do), you come across all these adverts for cigarettes, and they are quite arresting. If we were a sane species, then by now, adverts for fossil fuel intensive activities (flying, driving tanks etc) would have been similarly banished.
(How) does it connect to climate change?
The analogy about knowing things are bad for you, the ways the denialist campaigns worked – well, read Oreskes and Conway for the gory details.
What happened next
Advertisers kept finding new ways to push cancer sticks (“cool” characters in Hollywood movies, etc etc etc)
Nicotine use is frequently shown in movies, historically often in return for six-figure (US$) sponsorship deals. More money is paid for a star actor to be shown using nicotine. Smokers in movies are generally healthier, more successful, and younger than actual smokers. Health effects, including coughing and addiction, are shown or mentioned in only a few percent of cases, and are less likely to be mentioned in films targeted at younger viewers.[3]: 372–374
Regulation of nicotine marketing – Wikipedia
How does it help us understand the world?
Knowing that there was a time when public health arguments were bipartisan and could be successful. Now we have RFK and pro-plagues – sorry “anti-vaxxer” nutjobs.
How does it help us act in the world?
Well there are various campaigns trying to ban SUV advertising and so forth. Badvertising and so on.
The source that it comes from, if necessary,
Xxx
The other things that you could read about this or watch
Agnotology (the creation of doubt/ignorance.
Stuff I will download and probably never read.
McAuliffe, R. (1988). The FTC and the effectiveness of cigarette advertising regulations. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 7(1), 49-64.
doi.org/10.1177/074391568800700105
What do you think?
If you have opinions or info about this, or other things that happened on this day that are worth knowing, let me know!
Also on this day
Wikipedia
Working Class History
What Happened on January 1 | HISTORY