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You may think the debate over smoking is fairly recent. But this week in 1908, the New York City Council passed an ordinance that made it illegal for women to
smoke in public. The ordinance was the result of a campaign by Lucy Page Gaston, head of the National Anti-Cigarette League, who coined the phrase "coffin nails" for cigarettes. A number of cities had banned smoking, along with the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Idaho and Tennessee. All the laws were revoked by 1917, since they were not only difficult to enforce, but added to the allure of smoking. Now, just over 23 percent of adults in the U.S. currently smoke. The highest proportion is in Kentucky, at 33 percent. The lowest is Utah at 13 percent.
