Exhibitions as Public Health Interventions: The University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society

Abstract

Can exhibitions of artifacts from the tobacco industry, its allies and critics, act as a public health intervention? The University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society is a curatorial and research center dedicated to the creation of exhibitions on the tobacco industry and its allies, the marketing of cigarettes and other tobacco products, and the efforts to counteract the use and promotion of cigarettes throughout the 20th century to the present day (Blum, 1994, p. 8). Physical and digital exhibitions provide social and historical context to increase public understanding of a deadly product which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, kills 1,300 Americans a day. University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society collects “communication artifacts” of the tobacco industry, from ubiquitous advertisements to subtler promotional efforts such as financial support for museums and other cultural institutions. This summary of the center’s work spotlights archives, curated and made public through exhibitions.