Truth Behind Tobacco: A Dive into the Manipulation of Tobacco Companies
Open Access
Author:
Pacer, Susan
Area of Honors:
History
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Jacob F. Lee, Thesis Supervisor Howard Smith, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
tobacco advertisement manipulation smoking health
Abstract:
During the twentieth century, U.S. tobacco companies perpetrated a calculated campaign of manipulation and disinformation. In response to a growing medical consensus that smoking increases a person's chance of developing lung cancer, these companies hired doctors and scientists to cast doubt on that research and to present their products as safe. Tobacco companies published advertisements promoting cigarettes. Advertisements contained images of women to appease the male gaze—some advertisements called upon doctors to promote cigarettes, claiming cigarettes aided with congestion. However, despite their public statements to the contrary, tobacco company executives and employees knew the dangers of smoking. Internal tobacco documents revealed certain additives and chemical compounds that heightened addiction; Companies altered the tobacco plant to produce a higher nicotine content. By examining tobacco companies' internal reports and public statements alongside medical research, this thesis demonstrates that tobacco companies understood the health risks of smoking as early as 1910 yet continued to deny it publicly.
