ABSTRACT
Scientific research, which began to produce consistent evidence of the links between smoking and lung cancer and other harmful outcomes in the 1950s, set the stage for a growing tide of activism from the 1960s on—a tide that is increasing to this day. In the second—wave of tobacco control activism in the United States, claims-making is based heavily on evidence of the health effects of tobacco use as well as protection of the rights of non-smokers. The chapter presents an overview of the production of scientific knowledge on the health effects of tobacco use and summarizes what is known about the prevalence of tobacco use in the United States. It discusses economic and health consequences of tobacco use. The chapter describes the main policy strategies that government and movement organizations have pursued, followed by an overview of tobacco control efforts in Minnesota, which has been a leader in tobacco control activism and policy.
