Ranilla was a famous Mexican caballero whose exploits in the early century were fueled by a high consumption of caprichos, “a cigar of cigars” that cooled down the throat and rested it from the burning air of vera cruz. The comic strip was as you might have guessed, sponsored by a local tobacco manufacturer.
Tintin, the little boy with a quaff by Belgian cartoonist Herge, was well in advance of his time when, in 1938, in king ottokars scepter, he retorted “thanks I don’t smoke”. But times had changed when, I 1983, the cowboy lucky duke replaced his cigarette with a wisp of straw. His creator Morris earned a medal from the world health organization from that message.

In an incisive and often funny, article in world health forum (Vol. 11, No 1, 1990), philipe videlier and pierine piras examine how health matters are dealt with in strip cartoons. Using a wide variety of examples, starting from the end of last century and spanning the world from Brazil to china, from Belgium to Zaire, they show that health may figure in strip cartoons in at least three ways:

Medical adventures or stories focused on a physician
Health as an element of suspense or part of adventure
The depiction of ways of life.

That Dr Benjamin justice should be a staff member of the world health organization might have surprised some readers of the cartoon Pif; the doctors method were not quite in line with those of world health organization. The name was therefore changed to the fictitious international health organization, which gave the god doctor greater freedom of action, as the authors put it.
http://healthful.com.ng/why-lucky-duke-stopped-smoking/