A Surgeon General Report Once Cleared the Air About Smoking. Is it Time for One on Vaping?

FILE - Pall Mall cigarettes, a Reynolds American brand, are arranged for a photo in Washington, DC. (Photo by Diaa Bekheet) FILE - In this April 9, 1965 file photo, Surgeon General Luther Terry testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the House Commerce Committee hearing on proposed labeling of cigarette packages. FILE - So far, investigators have not identified a particular device, liquid or ingredient behind the U.S. outbreak of severe vaping-related illnesses. FILE- A man vapes with an electronic cigarette, exhales in Fair Oaks, Virginia. (Photo: Diaa Bekheet). FILE - A health warning is seen on the packaging of a disposable vaping pod device in Washington , June 26, 2023.

Sixty years ago, the U.S. surgeon general released a report that settled a longstanding public debate about the dangers of cigarettes and led to huge changes in smoking in America.