Doonesbury versus the tobacco institute: The smoke starters' coupon

Garry Trudeau's comic strip Doonesbury launched repeated attacks against the tobacco industry. These messages argued that tobacco was a health hazard and that cigarettes are addictive, they ridiculed the tobacco industry's campaign for smokers’ rights, and they charged that cigarettes are marketed to our nation's youth. This series of attacks culminated in the “Smoke Starters’ Coupon” strip, which promised free cigarettes to those who returned the coupon if they were under‐aged and provided the address of the industry lobby, the Tobacco Institute. The Institute responded with a brochure ("Smoking and Young People: Where the Tobacco Industry Stands") sent to the hundreds of people who mailed in coupons. This essay applies the theory of image restoration discourse to this controversy, concluding that Doonesbury's attack was powerful and the industry's response ill‐conceived.