In the 1950s, selling cigarettes in hospitals was a routine, accepted practice, with staff often wheeling carts directly to patient bedsides to sell packs or cartons alongside snacks and magazines. Smoking was widely allowed in hospital rooms, waiting areas, and nurses’ stations, as tobacco was not yet widely recognized as a major health risk.
Patients could purchase cigarettes from carts without leaving their beds. Smoking was common in hospitals, with some doctors even permitting or recommending it, mistakenly believing it could soothe patients. Popular unfiltered brands like Camels, Lucky Strike, Chesterfield, and Philip Morris were common.
Nurses and doctors often smoked in nursing stations, during reports, and while on duty. This practice reflects a period when tobacco was integrated into daily life and, in some cases, marketed as a health aid. This era preceded the widespread awareness of the dangers of smoking and the subsequent Surgeon General’s warnings.
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