UA Exhibit ‘Cartoonists Take Up Smoking’ on Display at National Museum of Health and Medicine

TUSCALOOSA Ala. — The National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C., recently opened “Cartoonists Take Up Smoking,” an exhibition of original newspaper editorial cartoons, curated by Alan Blum, M.D., a national expert on the history of the tobacco industry and director of The University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society.

The exhibit guides viewers through the 40-year battles over the use and promotion of cigarettes since the landmark U.S. Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health in 1964. “Cartoonists Take Up Smoking” also addresses the roles of organized medicine, politicians and the mass media.

“The wide-ranging controversies surrounding tobacco are captured in the cartoons, from the misguided quest for a safe cigarette to the targeting of tobacco advertising to women and minority groups,” Blum said. “Editorial cartoons on smoking have had an impact at both the national and local levels. For instance, they laughed Joe Camel out of existence and have helped influence public opinion leading to the passage of countless indoor air laws.”

In addition to the cartoons, the exhibition features extensive illustrated material, from the newspaper headlines that inspired the cartoons to advertisements promoting the health benefits of lighting up.

The exhibit was produced with the cooperation of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, and was supported in part by the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute and the Herb Block Foundation.

Lori Jacobi, center archivist, helped organize the exhibit, which will be on display at the National Museum of Health and Medicine through January. A facsimile exhibit is being developed to travel to libraries, museums and colleges throughout the United States.

The National Museum of Health and Medicine is located on the campus of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. For more information call 202/782-2200 or visit www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum.