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.