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Sinners and Saints - Part 09

1929 smoking adVice and Reform in Kansas

Smoking Timeline

Anti-tobacco reform was part of the "Clean Life Crusade" of the 1880s and 1890s. Kansas was one of the first states to pass anti-tobacco legislation.

1881

Machine-made cigarettes introduced in the United States.

1889

A law makes it illegal for anyone "to sell, give or furnish any cigar, cigarette or tobacco of any form . . . to any minor under sixteen (16) years of age."

1903

Kansas legislature passes the "slobbering" bill, prohibiting the spitting of tobacco on the floors, walls, or carpets of any building used for a church, school, or other public purpose.

1909

Kansas legislation is approved that makes it illegal for "any person, company or corporation to sell or give away any cigarettes or cigarette paper in or about any store or any other place for free distribution or sale."

1964

U.S. surgeon general declares cigarette smoking a health hazard.

1998

Kansas and other states win a major lawsuit against tobacco companies.

 

Sinners & Saints is an online exhibit developed by the Kansas Museum of History.

  1. A Moral and Pure Society - Creating better communities was the goal.
  2. Alcohol - The politics behind alcohol reform.
  3. Agitate, Educate, Organize! - Women's role in prohibition laws.
  4. Gambling - Betting men took money away from their families.
  5. Gambling Timeline - Kansas issues.
  6. Prostitution - Seen as threatening the moral fabric of society.
  7. Prostitution Timeline - Kansas issues.
  8. Smoking - Cigarettes were believed to corrupt youth.
  9. Smoking Timeline - Kansas & U.S. issues.
  10. Vice in the 20th and 21st Centuries - They're still vices, but now the issue is health.
  11. Kansas Reformed? - The definition of "vice" has shifted over time.

Contact us at kshs.kansasmuseum@ks.gov