[Smoking as a theme in popular health literature 1940-1960]

Little is known about the information available to smokers who started smoking in the early days of research on smoking and health. The main topics of investigation in our study were: How much information on the health hazards of smoking was available to non-professionals in Norway between 1940 and 1960? What characterised this information, and did it change in quantity or quality over this period?

Representative samples of health magazines and books from 1940 to 1960 were analysed for information on the health effects of smoking. Frequency and size of articles were registered and a basic statistical analysis of the information performed.

There was a slight increase in the amount of literature published on the subject. Religious publications were the most direct in their communication and the most consistent in recommending non-smoking. Compared to other publications, they eagerly speculated on underlying physiological mechanisms. The non-religious publications seem to better reflect the general discussions and disagreements in the field; according to several, only "exaggerated" smoking constituted a threat to health; "moderate consumption" was considered harmless.

While religious literature engaged in overt and sometimes undue speculation, the non-religious publications in the sample seemed to reflect a belief in the harmlessness of a "normal" consumption of cigarettes. The debates and disagreements in the scientific community are also more apparent in the non-religious publications.