In the 1940s and 50s, Warner Brothers made a lot of Joe McDoakes shorts which starred George O'Hanlon...63 to be exact. Well, "So You Want to Give Up Smoking" has the distinction of being the first of these pictures and you can tell that the usual formula isn't quite in place yet.
This little film was made by Richard L. Bare--a guy who was VERY prolific later in life directing television shows like "Green Acres", "Petticoat Junction" and many others. He also directed the McDoakes films and created the formula. But here, as I mentioned above, the style of the film was still in flux. Sure, you see McDoakes....but he's not nearly as stupid AND you see lots of other people smoking and trying to give up smoking. The style is also a lot less comedic and much more dry and dull. Not a bad film...but they do get much better.