Not everyone liked tobacco
In years gone by, lots of people believed that tobacco was good for you – but not everyone liked having it around!
Not in Public!
In the 17th century it became illegal to smoke in public in Massachusetts because many people didn’t like the effects of smoking. Around this time, some people also noticed that trying to stop the habit of smoking was really hard.
TV Ads Banned
Have you ever seen an advert on TV for cigarettes? You won’t have, because in the 1960’s, adverts for cigarettes were taken off British television screens.
Part of the reason was because in the 1950’s, research started to show that there was a link between smoking and lung cancer. Later on in the 1960’s, health warnings started to appear on packets of cigarettes to try to put people off smoking.
Can you think of any more recent changes made to try to stop people from smoking? Photos on packs of diseases etc and covering up cigarettes in shops.
Large Payouts
In the 1980’s many people who had become ill through smoking started to sue the cigarette companies. Many won large compensation payouts.