It’s hard to believe the tobacco industry had such a big hold on the U.S. population 57 years after these ads aired. (Click the “forward” button on the media player to cycle through the commercials.) The American addiction to tobacco in the last century was simply astounding. With the health care debate in full swing, it is instructive to take a look at how private industry approached their social responsibilities to America’s need for good health care in the 20th century. Think of the decades of stalling and deceit the tobacco industry practiced despite incontrovertible evidence that smoking was a killer. See if you think private enterprise has changed much today as you look at these commercials and consider how the Big Health lobby and Big Tobacco may be quite similar.

Click the “forward” button on the media player to cycle through the commercials.