People thus suspect that my figures must be greatly exaggerated. In response to this skepticism, let me explain that these figures originate with the United States Surgeon General's Reports. Since 1964, these reports have been produced annually by the government's office of Health and Human Services. The reports review all studies and available information, not only from America but from all over the world. The general consensus for over 20 years of accumulated data is that cigarettes are killers.
Some people assume that the government is exaggerating how deadly cigarettes are.
This is not very likely. If the government was going to mislead the public on the dangers of smoking, it would be denying the dangers, not exaggerating them. The United States Government has had a strong vested interest in tobacco production and dissemination. In 1984 tax revenues generated from tobacco products exceeded 6 billion dollars annually. The government owned close to one billion dollars of surplus tobacco.