Tobacco companies finally have to say smoking causes cancer

These statements may not be breaking news for oncologists and other physicians, who should have been aware of the lethal nature of cigarette smoking at least since the publication of the first Surgeon General’s report on Smoking and Health more than half a century ago. While the report generated front page headlines and led the network newscasts back in January 1964, the tobacco epidemic has continued, causing more than 20 million deaths in the U.S. in the decades since. Cigarette companies have persisted in using their legal, marketing, and propaganda tools to mislead and addict millions of consumers, including underage youth, for the sole purpose of increasing profits.