Before the Surgeon‐General’s Report: Public Discourse in Australia Over Tobacco Addiction to 1964

Abstract

Long before the contemporary debate over nicotine addiction, doctors, alternative health professionals, journalists and moral reformers in Australia discussed this issue in the media. It was assumed that tobacco was a powerful drug, and difficult to give up. Growing acknowledgment of addiction to tobacco was linked to 1) the rise of the cigarette, instead of pipe smoking; 2) the rise of use of other drugs in the aftermath of World War I; 3) the impact of the temperance movement and other moral reformers. The use of the term "addict" increased over time. The 1964 U.S. Surgeon‐General’s Report claim that tobacco smoking was merely a "habit" temporarily inhibited public discussion of addiction. Scientific research and political will over the addiction issue lagged behind commonsense observations of the effects of smoking.