Tobacco Goes to College

Book excerpt: This is the first book to document the history of cigarette advertising on college and university campuses. From the 1920s to the 1960s, such advertisers had a strong financial grip on student media and thus a degree of financial power over colleges and universities across the nation. The tobacco industry's strength was so great many doubted whether student newspapers and other campus media could survive without them. When the Tobacco Institute, the organization that governed the industry, decided to pull their advertising in June of 1963 nearly 2,000 student publications needed to recover up to 50 percent of their newly lost revenue. Although student newspapers are the main focus of this book, tobacco's presence on campus permeated more than just the student paper. Cigarette brands were promoted at football games, on campus radio and through campus representatives, and promotional items were placed on campus in locations such as university stores and the student union.