A little war time smoking history. Note the one in 1945 in Germany.
http://archive.tobacco.org/resources/history/Tobacco_History20-1.html
•1942: GERMANY: The Federation of German Women launch a campaign against tobacco and alcohol abuse; restaurants and cafes are forbidden to sell cigarettes to women customers.
•1942: ADVERTISING: Brown and Williamson claims that Kools would keep the head clear and/or give extra protection against colds.
•1942: BUSINESS: “Lucky Strike Green Has Gone to War.” Lucky Strike’s green/gold pack turns all-white, with a red bull’s eye. The war effort needed titanium, contained in Lucky’s green ink, and bronze, contained in the gold. ATC took this opportunity to change the color of the pack—hated by women because it clashed with their dresses—to white. Ad campaign coincides with US invasion of North Africa. Sales increase 38%.
•1942: MEDIA: Lucky Strike cigarettes becomes the sponsor of Jack Benny’s radio show, after Jell-o drops its sponsorship.
•1942-07: Reader’s Digest publishes “Cigarette Advertising Fact and Fiction,” claiming that cigarettes were essentially all the same, and were deadly.
•1942-12-14: THE PRESS The first complete,documented, and authoritative story on tobacco as a cause of diseases and a shortener of life appeared in the Dec 14 1942 issue of George Seldes’ IN Fact. —IN Fact, Nov. 14, 1949
•1943: ADVERTISING: Philip Morris places an ad in the National Medical Journal which reads: “’Don’t smoke’ is advice hard for patients to swallow. May we suggest instead ‘Smoking Philip Morris?’ Tests showed three out of every four cases of smokers’ cough cleared on changing to Philip Morris. Why not observe the results for yourself?”
•1943: BUSINESS: THAILAND: Cigarette production is made a state monopoly under the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly.
•1943-07: GERMANY: LEGISLATION: a law is passed forbidding tobacco use in public places by anyone under 18 years of age.
•1943-06-17: BUSINESS: NC: Strike at RJR’s Winston-Salem plant begins. The 6-day strike leads to better working conditions for blacks.
•1944-07-15: MEDIA: JAMA publishes as its main item “The Effects of Smoking Cigarets.” George Seldes claimed mainstream news coverage of the article was generally suppressed.
•1945: CONSUMPTION: AUSTRALIA: 75 per cent of adult male Australians smoke.
•1945: REGULATION: The three largest tobacco companies are convicted of anti-trust violations.
•1945: “We Shall Overcom” is first sung by tobacco workers. Silphia Horton said she learned the song from striking tobacco workers in Charleston, SC.
•1945: GERMANY: Cigarettes are the unofficial currency. Value: 50 cents each
I recall reading that someone bought a Volkswagen in postwar Germany for a carton of cigarettes.