Smoking is for Squares!

Hey, kitten. There’s a lot going on in this 1964 comic book anti-smoking PSA by DC Comics.

Smoking is for Squares! 1964 DC Comic Book PSA from an issue of Tales of the Unexpected

I’m still not quite sure why Paulette Breen suddenly turns into a 53-year-old truck stop waitress in the fifth panel. Probably from all the pointing.

The copy:

Smoking is for Squares!

Blond Smoker: “C’mon, Bob— Don’t be chicken.. Take a butt… You’ll feel cool!

Brunet Smoker: “Sure— It’ll make you feel ten feet tall… And then you’ll see how the girls flip for you!

Bob: “No, thanks! After what I just heard in there, I’m not going to ruin my health!

Paulette: That’s telling them, Bob… It’s bad enough that adults smoke— They, at least, might have had the excuse of not knowing any better. But now that doctors and scientists have definitely proved the health hazards in smoking, it’s just plain silly!

Blond Smoker: “Aw, I got time to worry about my health when I get old. It ain’t hurting me now…”

Paulette: “Perhaps… but it’s a tough habit to break when you want to, so it’s better not to get started! Don’t be a square! Stop smoking— and prolong your life and health! And if you want to feel ‘ten feet tall,’ try getting there through your own genuine efforts instead of such artificial ways as smoking! Take it from me— Girls who are hip don’t flip for fellows who smoke!”

Brunet Smoker: “Saaay!… If a kitten like Miss American Teenager feels that way, that’s good enough for me!”

Published as a public service in cooperation with the National Social Welfare Assembly, coordinating organization for national health, welfare and recreation agencies of the U.S.

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