Public Health Information

Making Decisions Regarding Tobacco Use

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company believes that individuals should rely on the conclusions of the U.S. Surgeon General, the Centers for Disease Control and other public health and medical officials when making decisions regarding smoking.

Links to the websites of the Surgeon General and other public health officials are provided below.

• The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation
• 2014 Surgeon General’s Report
• 2012 Surgeon General’s Report
• 2010 Surgeon General’s Report
• 2006 Surgeon General’s Report
• 2004 Surgeon General’s Report
• Previous Surgeon General’s Reports
• The Health Consequences of Using Smokeless Tobacco
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• National Cancer Institute
• American Cancer Society
• American Heart Association

Cigarette Warning Labels

Health-warning labels have been required to appear on all cigarette packages sold in the United States for more than 40 years.

The Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 required the following health warning, prescribed by Congress, to be placed on all cigarette packages sold in the United States:

CAUTION: CIGARETTE SMOKING MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH.

This warning appeared on cigarette packs from Jan. 1, 1966, through Oct. 31, 1970.

In 1969, the Public Health Smoking Act of 1969 required all cigarette packaging contain the statement:

WARNING: THE SURGEON GENERAL HAS DETERMINED THAT CIGARETTE SMOKING IS DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH.

This warning label appeared on cigarette packaging from Nov. 1, 1970, through Oct. 11, 1985.

The Comprehensive Smoking Education Act of 1984 amended the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act by requiring cigarette manufacturers and importers to display on a quarterly rotating basis the following four health warnings on all cigarette packages:

Smoke-free Warning Labels

Current law requires smoke-free tobacco to carry warning labels. The law also bans all advertising for smoke-free tobacco on radio and television. This legislation became law in February 1986. In October 1986 the Federal Trade Commission issued regulations that put the law into effect.

These warning labels are required for packages and advertisements. Rotated quarterly, label size is determined by the shape of the product, size of point of sale graphics, or size of advertisement, with warnings set at 20% of visible area for advertisements and at 30% for the two principal sides of the packaging. The labels read:

The links on this page are provided as a convenience, but R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is not responsible for the content on the linked websites. The statements and views available on those sites do not necessarily represent the views of R.J. Reynolds or its management.