The campaign got even stronger when studies proved that inhaling tobacco fumes from a nearby smoker is dangerous to children and everybody else. Old habits that seemed so much a part of the culture in the 1950s and 60s began to disappear. Now, in almost all public places in the United States, smoking is outlawed. And the public s health is much better because of it. Still, we re not close to claiming victory.
Tobacco addiction is a powerful adversary.
Unfortunately, the trend of declining cigarette smoking among adults over the past quarter century has stalled in the past five years. And the number of high school students smoking cigarettes has increased during the 1990s. Unless we rejuvenate the public health campaign against smoking, lung cancer rates that have been declining may rise again. But even with these recent reversals, the campaign to curtail smoking in the late 20th century is a tremendous example of how a public health initiative can change the culture and significantly improve the health of a nation. Soon after taking office in 1993, President Clinton announced a Childhood Immunization Initiative to boost overall immunization rates and close disturbing gaps in immunization rates among racial and ethnic groups.