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Story: Smoking

Smokers in 1955

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Smokers in 1955

These newspaper photographs from 1955 suggest how universal smoking had become by that time. Whether it was a woman enjoying leisure time at the races or a man (in this case a police officer) working at his desk, tobacco was a common accompaniment.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP/1955/0056-F (top)

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Smoking – Cigarettes rule: 1900–1960, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/38977/smokers-in-1955 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 30 November 2012.