--- description: Photos illustrating the results of a study conducted around the same time as America's landmark 1964 report on smoking and health. title: Portraits of Smokers in 1964, the Year Cigarettes Were Labeled Killers image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23e7986b162ed60f/698785c98e060114f045b01e/140108-smoking-health-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [health](/tag/health/) ## health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Portraits of Smokers in 1964, When Cigarettes Were First Called Killers by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 8, 2014 5:05 PM CUT  Caption from LIFE. Among men who exercised often and heavily, the death rates were 998 \[per 100,000\] for smokers and 474 for nonsmokers. Caption from LIFE. Among men who exercised often and heavily, the death rates were 998 \[per 100,000\] for smokers and 474 for nonsmokers.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 8, 2014 5:05 PM CUT Fifty years ago this week, the U.S. Surgeon General issued [**a report on smoking and health**](http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data%5Fstatistics/sgr/history/index.htm "undefined") that, arguably, changed the daily habits of more Americans (and, subsequently, millions of other people around the world) more profoundly than any other single medical report in history. On Jan. 11, 1964, Surgeon General Luther L. Terry and a committee of experts concluded that cigarettes, in a word, kill. AS LIFE put it to the magazine’s readers in its Jan. 24, 1964, issue: --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- According to [**a more recent study**](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/07/surgeon-general-report-made-history-saved-lives/4355275/ "undefined"), in the years since the Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee lobbed its bombshell into the national debate about smoking, more than 8 million American lives have been saved because of the committee’s unprecedentedly dire warnings. (It’s worth noting, meanwhile, that an estimated 18 million Americans have died from smoking-related illnesses in the past five decades.) Here, LIFE.com presents a series of photos that ran in that January 1964 issue, illustrating the results of a study conducted by Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond of the American Cancer Society at the time of the Surgeon General’s report. **One final note:** The LIFE article referenced above barely mentions women and smoking, and when it does, its message is somewhat cringe-inducing. “Today,” the article notes, “fewer women smoke than men. Those who do tend to smoke less heavily and _inhale less deeply_.” \[Emphasis ours.\] However, an ad for White Owl Miniature cigars in the very same issue specifically addresses LIFE’s female readers: “A word to women,” reads the ad copy. “A good cigar can calm a man down, relax him, settle his thoughts, make your life more enjoyable.” Allow us to translate: If your man is often anxious, restless, confused, addled, jittery, out of sorts or just unpleasant to be around, stick a miniature cigar in his face. You’ll be glad you did. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk "undefined")_._  Caption from LIFE. Among men who exercised often and heavily, the death rates were 998 \[per 100,000\] for smokers and 474 for nonsmokers. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Among short men, rate was 1,782 \[per 100,000\] for smokers, 1,065 for nonsmokers; among 6-footers, it was 1,481 to 687. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Photo illustrating results of a study conducted by Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond of the American Cancer Society at the time of the Surgeon General's 1964 report on smoking and health. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In Hammond study death rate among smoking farmers was 1,451 per 100,000, 716 for nonsmoking farmers. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Photo illustrating results of a study conducted by Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond of the American Cancer Society at the time of the Surgeon General's 1964 report on smoking and health. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Photo illustrating results of a study conducted by Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond of the American Cancer Society at the time of the Surgeon General's 1964 report on smoking and health. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Among men with a history of serious illness, death rates were 3,120 \[per 100,000\] for smokers, 1,916 for nonsmokers. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Among graduates of college, the death rate was 1,439 \[per 100,000\] for smokers, 676 for those who did not smoke. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Photo illustrating results of a study conducted by Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond of the American Cancer Society at the time of the Surgeon General's 1964 report on smoking and health. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Among bald men, known to have good male hormone levels, rate was 1,614 for smokers, 903 for nonsmokers. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Photo illustrating results of a study conducted by Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond of the American Cancer Society at the time of the Surgeon General's 1964 report on smoking and health. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Photo made around the time of the Surgeon General's 1964 report on smoking and health. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3763577/portraits-of-smokers-in-1964-when-cigarettes-were-first-called-killers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3763577/portraits-of-smokers-in-1964-when-cigarettes-were-first-called-killers/"},"headline":"Portraits of Smokers in 1964, When Cigarettes Were First Called Killers","datePublished":"2014-01-08T17:05:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:48.196Z","description":"Photos from a 1964 issue of LIFE magazine illustrating the results of a cigarette study conducted at the time of the U.S. Surgeon General's blockbuster anti-smoking report.","url":"https://time.com/3763577/portraits-of-smokers-in-1964-when-cigarettes-were-first-called-killers/","keywords":["health","photography","LIFE Magazine","1964","Ralph Morse"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23e7986b162ed60f/698785c98e060114f045b01e/140108-smoking-health-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23e7986b162ed60f/698785c98e060114f045b01e/140108-smoking-health-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Smoking and Health 1964","caption":"Photo illustrating results of a study conducted by Dr. E. 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