Tom and Jerry banned from smoking!!!!

[Main Admin Account]

LONDON (AFP) - Smoking scenes in "Tom and Jerry" cartoons are now banned in Britain, following a viewer's complaint to the government agency that polices the airwaves.

In one episode of the classic US cartoon series, Tom is seen smoking a roll-up cigarette in a bid to impress a female cat. In another, Tom's opponent in a tennis match was seen smoking a large cigar.

Following an investigation prompted by the anonymous viewer's complaint, regulator Ofcom said Monday that children's TV channel Boomerang has agreed to edit out scenes deemed to glamorise or condone smoking.

"We note that, in 'Tom and Jerry', smoking usually appears in a stylised manner and is frequently not condoned," said Ofcom, recalling how the cartoons were made in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s when smoking was not so controversial.

"However, while we appreciate the historic integrity of the animation, the level of editorial justification required for the inclusion of smoking in such cartoons is necessarily high."

[embarossed]

That's hilarious.
Actually, it's not. If I could pinpoint the sole reason I smoke 20 a day now it would probably be that I watched alot of Tom and Jerry as a boy. I'd sacrifice all those childhood moments laughing at a cat running into things for the chance to not be a wheezy bastard with yellow teeth.
Does that sound sarcastic?

[homeparkhomer]

*shakes head balefully*

[gw]

ffs what next?

It'll probs be banned for promoting violence next

[shadow]

yeah some people are going through every episode of childs cartoons including tom and jerry and scooby doo which have anything in them related to smoking, which is just bull shit, just becuase the cartoons show it doesnt force people to buy them

[Neko Bazu]

Copying and pasting (and modifying slightly) my entire rant from my journal, just because I can:

Once again, we experience another example of the 'cotton wool' culture children are being forced into today. I'm sure every member of 606 has seen Tom and Jerry, and most of us are probably long-term fans - so among those of us that watched it (or still do), how many smoke? And how many of you took it up because Tom and Jerry made it look cool?

Smoking in cartoons is no more of an influence on children than smoking in films, other TV shows or even real life - in fact, it's proven that children whose parents smoke are more likely to smoke themselves, and vice-versa. Shouldn't it be up to the parents to tell their children that smoking is unhealthy, rather than trying to pretend it doesn't exist?

If children are exposed to something and told it's bad, some will want to try it anyway, and others will listen and leave it alone. If a child is left to discover something themselves, they will almost certainly want to experiment further. Sheltering kids is doing more harm than good nowadays (not only on TV - look at how many kids have allergies, weak immune systems etc now because they were sheltered instead of being left to play), and the fact that children's cartoons - one of the last havens of innocence - have been dragged into this policy is a depressing sign of the times we live in today.

[shadow]

that episode were they tom was smoking was made years ago so why bring it back up now

[Neko Bazu]

The episode still gets screened nowadays, and Boomerang believe that it's not appropriate for modern viewers, since smoking was much more acceptable back then.

To be fair, the episode 'Texas Tom' actually has very little smoking in it - it's how he rolls the cigarette and what he does with it that's cool, not the fact that he's smoking (if anyone can't recall it, I'll c+p that from my journal too)

[shadow]

ok then have u seen the simpson episode were homer gains weight to 300 pounds so he can work at home. Are they gonna ban that episode becuase it is saying being over wieght is good and its saying be fat and u dont have to go to work.

also on the simpsons bart is always getting strangled by homer when he does something are they gonna ban that becuase people might start strangling ther kids

i reckon the people that deal with this stuff have run out of things to do so they decided to pick on cartoons.

[Neko Bazu]

As I said on another thread, it won't be long before they just start showing slideshows of flowers and butterflies to make sure no-one runs any risk of learning anything remotely controversial

(No roses in case non-English types are offended, mind...)

What really gets me is the way they seem to have no problem with some of the song lyrics that come out now, but when it comes to a harmless cartoon? I reckon we should make a song and dance about it - literally!

"I'ma tell you I put a bullet in ma bitch's head
But if that kitty wanna smoke, we put the cartoon to bed"

The sad thing is, that would probably make it past the censors too, which says a lot...