At first, little was known about the risks of cigarettes and cigarette smoke. However, on April Fool's Day 1970, President Richard Nixon signed The Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act. It required cigarette companies to put labels on their packages warning people of the health hazards of smoking. He signed another bill banning cigarette advertisements on TV.
Eighteen years later, in 1988, the law was expanded. Now, it is illegal to sell cigarettes to minors under the age of 18. In some states, the age is 19.
