Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

62 | FEBRUARY 17 • 2022 

(No) Smoking Section
O

ne subject that I have never 
addressed in a Looking Back column 
is smoking. Smoking? More to the 
point, I’m writing about a bygone cigarette 
culture.
Just to be sure, let me make a disclaimer 
— I am not advocating that anyone take up 
smoking cigarettes or anything else. Well, 
smoked fish can be tasty. And, I hold nothing 
against those who smoke. Indeed, smoking 
has a historic role in America.
During cruises through 
the William Davidson Digital 
Archive of Jewish Detroit 
History, I have seen thousands 
of advertisements for cigarettes. 
Some of them are works of art. 
The Detroit Jewish Chronicle 
first published such ads in 1916 
and they remained a constant presence in the 
JN until the 1990s. It is good to remember 
that, until the 1970s and 1980s, one could 
smoke just about anywhere. Since then, 
restrictions slowly reduced public smoking 
areas.
The first issue of the Chronicle on March 3, 
1916, had an interesting ad for A.B. Newman 
Co. It stated that Newman was the “sole 
agent for The Imperial and Royal Austrian 
Hungarian and Bosnia-Herzegovinian 
Tobacco Monopolies.
” Quite the title there! 
In subsequent ads, Newman Co. touted its 
real specialty: manufacturing paper and cork 
cigarette holders. 
The first ads for a cigarette brand were for 
Murad in 1917. They made claims such as 
“while most men smoke, it is one man in ten 
that knows tobacco.
” Obviously, the one in ten 
chose Murad cigarettes. By the way, this was 
also the year that witnessed the first cigarette 
ads geared toward women. 
The heyday of cigarette advertising might 
be the 1930s and 1940s. This was an era that 
featured physician recommendations for 
particular brands. Interestingly, in opposition 
to this, a Dec. 24, 1943, ad in the JN for Old 
Gold claimed that “
A good cigarette is a treat 
... not a treatment,
” and was against “Cure-
claims” or using the “coattails of doctors” in 

ads for cigarettes.
Most ads, however, used more tried-and- 
true methods such as celebrity endorsements. 
Skater and movie star Sonja Henie and band-
leader Glenn Miller were featured in an ad for 
Chesterfield (Aug. 19, 1941). Likewise, actress 
and pin-up star Betty Grable was the focus of 
a Chesterfield ad (June 6, 1941).
With the advent of World War II, cigarettes 
became a serious matter for America’s armed 
forces. The American Zionist Association and 
the JN established a campaign that shipped 
hundreds of thousands of donated cigarettes 
overseas. A report about the campaign in 
the May 21, 1943, JN, cited a letter from 
General Douglas McArthur where he states 
that “personal comforts are most difficult to 
obtain here [Pacific Theater of operations].
” 
Cunningham’s Drug Stores would also ship 
cartons of cigarettes free 
to troops overseas (May 
29, 1942).
The 1960s was anoth-
er interesting era. For 
one example, the makers 
of Kent, Newport and 
Old Gold cigarettes used 
the story of Shalom 
Aleichem to push its 
brands (Nov. 15, 1963). 
Cigarettes could also 
be political. Brown & 
Williamson, makers of 
Lucky Strike and Pall 
Mall cigarettes, joined 
the Arab Boycott of 
Israel in 1956. See Boris 
Smoler’s column from 
July 28, 1961.
Cigarettes now come 
with a warning from the 
U.S. Surgeon General, 
and the JN no longer 
publishes advertisements 
for them. But they do 
have an interesting history. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation 
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair
Cunningham’s Drug Stores would also ship 

one example, the makers 

Old Gold cigarettes used 

with a warning from the 

publishes advertisements 

have an interesting history. 

