Judge — May 6, 1905 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Deadly Cigarette" (Judge, May 6, 1905) This anti-smoking propaganda cartoon depicts a skull labeled "CIGARETTE TRUST" pouring cigarettes into an open grave filled with dead bodies and cigarette packages. The accompanying text box reproduces Nebraska's anti-cigarette law, which criminalized manufacture and sale of cigarettes within the state, imposing fines up to $100 and potential jail time. The satire mocks cigarettes as lethal products—literally deadly poison. The "trust" reference suggests corporate monopolies controlling tobacco. The caption calls on other states to adopt similar legislation, making this both political advocacy and social commentary on the emerging public health awareness about tobacco dangers in the early 1900s.