I was born in 1975 and back then, over 65% of the adult population smoked on a daily basis. Prior to that it was worse!   In fact, in the 50's and 60's, Cigarettes were so popular, it was considered RUDE to not own a large ash tray and keep in your living room for when company came over.  Our slideshow below about advertising, has links to a couple of the old commercials.  

In the 60's, the harmful effects of smoking were not known OR were hidden by those who did know.  In fact, you can find commercials from back then stating "the number 1 cigarette recommended by ear-nose-and throat specialists".  On April 1, 1970, then President Richard Nixon, signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act which banned cigarette ads from airing on television and radio. This was the start of a VERY slow decline in Cigarette use among the nation's youth.  

I remember when I was in middle school older friends talking about their designated smoking areas in the school yards of some high schools.  I remember in high school, the NTA's allowing students to smoke in the rest rooms between classes.  In 1991, according to the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior study, 76% of high school age students tried smoking at least once and 7.4% smoked cigarettes daily.   In 2017, only 19.4% reported trying cigarettes at least once while only 3.5% said they smoke on a daily basis.  a daily basis while only. YES, a lot of teens "vape" and there is certainly an increase in the mainstream for smoking other things.  Still, while statistics for underage alcohol use are basically the same now as in the 90's, smoking has decreased significantly!

In 2019, the FDA formally raised the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21. It is suspected that with increased education to the negative effects of smoking and this increased age restriction, combined with EXPENSIVE pricing, that younger people (ages 10-13) will be less likely to smoke daily.

Smoking Cigarettes on a daily basis is EASILY the SINGLE-WORST legal thing anyone can do to their physical health.  

Although we will not spend a lot of time on this topic in our 11th grade classes because it's basically core content for grades 6-9, I'm keeping it up for those of you who want the additional education or resources.  If you are a colleague from another school, please email me at tcorabi@philasd.org to let me know how you're using this page.  Please Enjoy!