Video: 'Winston cigarettes TV ad, 1970'

(Wednesday, April 1, 1970) — President Richard Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law tonight, banning cigarette television and radio advertisements in the United States effective Jan. 2, 1971.

The “one, big last day” on Jan. 1, 1971, was permitted by Congress to allow television networks to get tobacco revenue for the college football bowl games on New Year’s Day.

The act was one of the major bills resulting from the 1964 report by Surgeon General Luther Terry, which found that lung cancer and chronic bronchitis are causally related to cigarette smoking.