Tar derby

The period ended in 1959 after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman and several cigarette company presidents agreed to discontinue usage of tar or nicotine levels in advertisements.

[3][4][5] A noticeable decline in per capita tobacco consumption helped stimulate companies to implement harm reduction technology in new brands of cigarettes, especially filters.

[citation needed] In 1953, the Presidents of the major cigarette manufacturers met in New York City to discuss a response to the scientific reports linking smoking and cancer and retained John Hill, a noted advertising guru of the time.

This eventually led to a two-full-page advertisement placed in 448 newspapers, reaching a circulation of 43,245,000 in 258 cities, outlining the opinion of the newly formed Tobacco Industry Research Committee.

[citation needed] Another round of FTC regulation in 1955 banned all references to "throat, larynx, lungs, nose or other parts of the body," or to "digestion, energy, nerves or doctors" for all brands, new and old.

Filter cigarettes continued to grow in popularity and the emphasis on taste and pleasure helped rebound industry wide sales.

[citation needed] In 1957, two years after the FTC's guidelines on cigarette advertisements were released, the Surgeon General issued the "Joint Report of Study Group on Smoking and Health.” The report stated, "It is clear that there is an increasing and consistent body of evidence that excessive cigarette smoking is one of the causative factors in lung cancer," which solidified the Surgeon General’s position on tobacco.

These lower tar levels were accompanied by advertisements that boasted: KENT with revolutionary NEW Micronite Filter gives you significantly better filtration .

[10] Lorillard: Old Gold Straight: Naturally reduced in nicotine The end of the tar derby in 1959 resulted from discussions between FTC Chairman Earl W. Kinter and several big tobacco company presidents.