Anime pulled from streaming platform after anti-tobacco complaints

Anime pulled from streaming platform after anti-tobacco complaints – Taipei Times

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Fri, Aug 21, 2026 page2

• Anime pulled from streaming platform after anti-tobacco complaints

  • By Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNA

  The removal of the anime Chainsmoker Cat (尼古喵喵) from streaming platforms due to tobacco product placement complaints contravenes the principle of proportionality and stifles creative expression, an advocacy group said yesterday, after the Health Promotion Administration launched an investigation that could result in platform operators facing fines of up to NT$1 million (US$31,415).

  Bahamut Animation Crazy, an animation streaming platform, has confirmed that the show is no longer available in Taiwan, after the John Tung Foundation, the Taiwan Anti-Smoking Alliance and other groups yesterday called on authorities to investigate and urged the show to be removed for allegedly promoting smoking.

  In response, the ACGN Creative Rights Association said that demanding the platform remove the series contravenes the principle of proportionality and could have a chilling effect on creative expression.

  A woman watches the anime Chainsmoker Cat on a streaming platform yesterday.

  Authorities had yet to release a complete investigation report, provide a detailed legal analysis or issue a formal removal order, yet the work has already disappeared from a Taiwanese platform under the pressure of potential penalties, the association said in a Facebook post.

  The platform’s removal of content to avoid the risk of heavy fines reflects a pattern that has effectively bypassed due process and shifted the burden of administrative judgments onto platforms, distributors, creators and audiences, the association said.

  The original manga’s target audience was adult men and the anime was broadcast in a late-night time slot in Japan, it said.

  The series was classified as PG-15, rated for people over the age of 15, meaning it should not be regarded as content aimed at children simply because it is animated, it said.

  Article 10 of the Enforcement Rules of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法施行細則) stipulates that where the scene of smoking occurs as necessary in television shows, drama and theatrical performances, the warning that smoking is harmful to health shall be displayed simultaneously, the association said.

  The series uses nicotine addiction and the disorder it causes in daily life as the core of its character development and comedy, making smoking scenes integral to the narrative, it said.

  The show already includes disclaimers stating that it does not encourage smoking and warning that excessive smoking and drinking are harmful to health, it added.

  Opposing the harmful effects of tobacco does not mean opposing artistic portrayals of those effects, and protecting minors does not mean depriving adults of access to lawful creative works, it said.

  The association urged regulators to consider the context of the work, Taiwan’s content-rating system and the principle of proportionality.

  Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said he had reviewed the content and found that it contained multiple close-up shots of cigarette brands, which should have been obscured or blurred.

  Smoking scenes should also have carried on-screen warnings stating that smoking is harmful to health, Shih said.

  The Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法) prohibits the promotion or advertising of tobacco products through films, television and radio, he said.

  However, the ministry and the National Communications Commission in 2010 established production guidelines for dramas and artworks, he said.

  The guidelines include avoiding content aimed at minors, keeping such content out of time slots commonly viewed by children, limiting frequent close-ups of smoking and discouraging smoking by main characters, he said

  Chainsmoker Cat failed to comply with the relevant guidelines, he said, adding that even Japanese anime broadcast in Taiwan must follow domestic regulations.

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