Today in history: Nixon limits cigarette ads

President Nixon in 1970 — (Image credit: Gianni Ferrari/Cover/Getty Images)

April 1, 1953: President Eisenhower signed a bill creating the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (today Health and Human Services).

April 1, 1970: President Nixon signed a bill limiting cigarette advertisements on TV and radio. Nixon, who was an avid pipe smoker, indulging in as many as eight bowls a day, supported the legislation at the urging of public health advocates. There had been warnings about the dangers of smoking as far back as 1939, and by the end of the 1950s, all states had laws banning the sale of cigarettes to minors. In 1964, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) agreed that advertisers had a responsibility to warn the public of the health hazards of cigarette smoking.

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