Cigarette smoking in the US has plummeted to historic lows, with only 11% of adults reporting having smoked in the past week, a 2024 Gallup poll has found. This is a significant decline from the 41% high reported in 1944. This decrease reflects broader changes in attitudes towards smoking, influenced by evolving health awareness, public policy, and media portrayals.
Pop culture, including comics, once mirrored society’s view of smoking as sophisticated and rebellious. Characters, from noir detectives to superheroes, were frequently depicted with cigarettes in hand. Today, however, both in real life and pop culture, smoking has fallen out of favor, with some comic books even incorporating anti-smoking campaigns or showcasing characters struggling with addiction. This article traces the evolution of smoking in pop culture, examining how attitudes have shifted over time.
Smoking’s heyday: A staple in the mid-20th century
During the 1940s and 1950s, smoking was at its peak. Over 40% of the US adult population smoked cigarettes by the mid-1960s, and this was reflected across pop culture, particularly in film and comics. Smoking was often depicted as a symbol of masculinity, sophistication, or rebellion, a trope used by filmmakers, writers, and comic book creators to add layers to their characters.
According to a ResearchGate study, this era saw the rise of noir graphic novels, which frequently portrayed female smokers as the archetypal “femme fatale”—dangerous, seductive women who used their allure to manipulate men. These noir stories, inspired by American crime fiction writers like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, often featured chain-smoking detectives like Chandler’s Philip Marlowe or Hammett’s Sam Spade. Smoking was not just a habit; it was a characteristic that communicated a sense of world-weariness, toughness, and cynicism.
Hollywood’s film noir boom coincided with this trend. From Humphrey Bogart’s The Maltese Falcon (1941) to Marlene Dietrich’s iconic role in Touch of Evil (1958), smoking was synonymous with the gritty realism of noir. The cigarette was a prop that signaled danger, temptation, and intrigue, and in many cases, it was almost as important as the dialogue.
In parallel, noir graphic novels depicted this gritty, smoke-filled underworld, populated by morally ambiguous characters. Smoking was as pervasive in these worlds as corruption and violence, with vigilantes and disillusioned detectives rarely seen without a cigarette between their lips. However, due to the controversy surrounding the glorification of such content, some noir comics faced backlash, leading to suppression during the 1950s and beyond.
Superheroes and cigarettes: Smoking in comics in the late 20th century
While noir comics were defined by their tough, smoking protagonists, superhero comics also embraced the habit for much of the 20th century. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, characters like Wolverine, The Thing, Gambit, and Nick Fury were known for their cigar-chomping, bad-boy personas. These characters, who embodied a rough-and-tumble attitude, portrayed smoking as a marker of their masculine strength.
However, by the early 2000s, this portrayal began to change. Joe Quesada, who became Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief in 2000, made it his personal mission to eliminate depictions of superheroes smoking in Marvel’s stories. In a New York Post article, Quesada explained that while he was a non-smoker, his grandfather had tragically passed due to smoking-related emphysema. This personal connection to the issue motivated him to remove smoking from Marvel’s superhero universe, signaling a larger cultural shift.
Anti-smoking awareness in pop culture
By the late 1990s, public perception of smoking had shifted drastically, fueled by growing awareness of its dangers. Bans on public smoking began to take hold, and by 2018, cigarette smoking among US adults had reached a record low of 13.7%. Pop culture, always reflective of societal trends, began to mirror this change.
Hollywood responded by curbing depictions of smoking, especially in youth-oriented films. In 2007, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), under pressure from anti-smoking advocates, encouraged studios to eliminate smoking from all youth-rated films. By 2019, streaming giant Netflix announced it would follow suit by removing smoking from TV-14 and PG-13-rated content.
This shift towards anti-smoking messaging led to the rise of smoking alternatives, such as nicotine pouches and patches. ZYN nicotine pouches, for one, have become an especially popular alternative in the US, promising a smoke- and tobacco-free way to kick the habit. In the second quarter of 2024, Philip Morris recorded that shipments of ZYN reached 135.1 million cans, prompting the company to expand production.
To further encourage smokers to quit and switch to nicotine pouches, there’s a ZYN rewards program allowing users to earn points from every purchase. These points can then be redeemed for prizes like gift cards, headphones, or air fryers. This approach incentivizes smokers to stay away from traditional cigarettes while ‘gamifying’ the process, making quitting more appealing.
Smoking and addiction in modern comics
As the public’s views on smoking have evolved, comic books have also begun tackling the theme of addiction in more nuanced ways. One example is the new comic titled The Addiction by Vincent Zurzolo and David Quinn. This explores the struggles of overcoming addiction through the character Dr. Niki Tino. After being dosed with a lethal cocktail of drugs, Dr. Tino gains powers but must also battle the trauma of addiction. The comic captures the highs and lows of drug addiction, making a powerful statement on how it can shape and define a person’s life. Through stories like this, modern comics reflect the complexities of addiction, encouraging readers to empathize with those fighting similar battles.
Marvel Comics has also joined the fight against addiction, releasing The Mind Control Menace as part of the FDA’s The Real Cost campaign. This comic, designed to combat vaping, uses a sci-fi narrative to depict e-cigarette addiction as a supervillain controlling the minds of vulnerable people. The story warns of the dangers of vaping and highlights the importance of making healthier choices. The campaign is available in multiple formats, including a digital comic on Marvel.com, YouTube, and TheRealCost.gov.
From the cigarette-chomping detectives of noir graphic novels to the nicotine-addicted citizens in Marvel’s anti-smoking comics, pop culture continues to evolve alongside public health trends. As smoking rates hit all-time lows, the portrayal of addiction in comics today offers a fresh perspective on the fight against tobacco, inspiring a new generation to break free from its grip.
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