I recall the famous picture of Rep. Henry Waxman swearing in the tobacco executives before asking them what they knew about the dangers of cigarette smoking and when they knew it. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the general public knew of a correlation between cigarette smoking and illnesses of certain types long before the Surgeon General reports in the 1960s.

From a letter to the editor of the Nov. 26, 1906 NYT:

I want to say a word or two against cigarette smoking. Every place one goes a man or a boy is seen smoking a cigarette. It is bad enough to see boys smoking this poison, but when it comes to men over 50 years old it looks silly. In fact foolish.

It is said that President Grant brought on cancer of the throat from his long habit of smoking. In fact, I know of an elderly man who has been smoking cigarettes for over thirty ears...Yes, I suppose he will smoke as long as he is living. It is too bad - that is, it will bring on a disease that will kill him.