IT’S ASTONISHING TODAY, but as recently as the early 1960s, doctors commonly smoked and suggested their patients do the same. The perceived medicinal benefits of smoking tobacco were touted for centuries. Tobacco was thought to ward off disease—even as far back as the 1665 Great Plague of London—and served as a treatment for colds, lethargy, and more. The belief that smoking was an effective means of delivering medication to the lungs persisted into the first half of the 20th century. Cigarette companies began advertising in the Journal of the American Medical Association in the early 1930s and continued for decades. Another marketing tool was mailers, like this one from Dr. Kool containing four packs of Kool cigarettes, along with a genial note from the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation of Louisville, Kentucky, encouraging doctors to recommend their brand specifically. It wasn’t until 1964, when the U.S. Surgeon General issued a statement that smoking was a cause of lung cancer, that the American Medical Association advised against smoking.
Kool Cigarettes Promotional Mailer
Vintage: 1950’s
Resides at the Indiana Medical History Museum
