On January 11, 1964, a definitive link between smoking and lung cancer was officially made public through a United States government report. This report confirmed long-held fears among experts and identified significant public health risks for both smokers and non-smokers, becoming a catalyst for major policy reform globally.
The 1964 report highlighted staggering statistics, including that cigarette smoking was responsible for a 70% increase in the mortality rate of smokers. US Surgeon General Luther Terry released the findings at a press conference in Washington.
At the time, anti-smoking campaigners had faced challenges in shifting public opinion against the lucrative tobacco industry. Australia, for instance, had a daily consumption of 55 million cigarettes, and the industry spent heavily on advertising, thriving despite emerging reports on health hazards.
Respected Australian immunologist and Nobel laureate Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet advocated for restrictions on cigarette advertising. He stated in 1964 that the most important goal was to prevent young people from starting smoking, suggesting the abolition or reduction of advertising and encouraging public figures, such as athletes, to speak out against cigarettes to provide an "emotional indication" of the danger.
Public opinion in 1964 regarding the growing anti-smoking campaigns varied. Some individuals viewed smoking as a personal choice, while others strongly condemned it, comparing tobacco to a "killer." Interviews conducted on the streets of Sydney captured these diverse perspectives.
Australian governments faced a dilemma concerning the tobacco industry. Significant government finance supported tobacco farming in states like Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, yet other government budgets produced anti-smoking propaganda. If all government-sponsored advice were followed, the tobacco industry would decline, resulting in the loss of tens of millions of pounds in excise revenue annually for the Commonwealth government.
Despite this conflict, health education authorities from all Australian states and the Commonwealth planned to discuss ways to intensify anti-smoking campaigns on a national level. Queensland, the nation's primary tobacco-growing state, also notably sponsored one of the most vigorous anti-cigarette smoking campaigns.