No smoke without fire

Fighting the tobacco industry

1954

Richard Doll, a British scientist (and smoker), publishes a paper in the British Medical Journal confirming the link between smoking and lung cancer.

1964

In the US, the Surgeon General’s report concludes that smoking causes lung cancer, following the consideration of more than 7,000 pieces of evidence, and is considered seminal.

1966

Notices on cigarette packets are introduced in the United States, left. They state: “Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health”.

1971

UK parliament passes a law introducing mandatory health warnings on cigarette packets: “WARNING by HM Government. SMOKING CAN DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH”.

1995

California, right, is the first US state to introduce a ban on smoking in public places

1999

The US Department of Justice brings a lawsuit against nine cigarette manufacturers and two tobacco trade associations, alleging they had engaged in a conspiracy to deceive the American public.

2006

The case – United States v Philip Morris USA, Inc – concludes that the industry had “lied, misrepresented and deceived the American public about the devastating health effects of smoking”.

2007

England introduces a ban on smoking in enclosed work places, left, following Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

2012

Australia introduces plain packaging for cigarettes, in a bid to make smoking less attractive to consumers.

May 2017

Plain packaging for cigarettes is introduced in the UK, with standardised packaging bearing graphic warnings, right, of the dangers of smoking. Ireland follows suit in September.

Nov 2017

Tobacco manufacturers in the US are forced to start running adverts across newspapers and prime-time television, stating that they intentionally designed cigarettes to create addiction.