The US surgeon general’s report, in 1964, stated in no uncertain terms, “Cigarette smoking is causally related to lung cancer in men.” This blunt statement forever shut down the argument that smoking was “not proven” to cause cancer. The rate of smoking in the United States among men began to decrease the following year and is now less than half what it was in 1964. No doubt millions of lives have been saved and lifespans lengthened.
