U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry led a public crusade against tobacco use in the 1960s,

Courtesy of U.S. National Library of Science

Luther Terry Press Conference

U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry led a public crusade against tobacco use in the 1960s, paving the way for surgeon generals to follow. The number of steady smokers in the U.S. dropped from 43 percent in 1964 to 22.8 percent in 2001.