does anyone really have a problem with tom and jerry smoking?

Answer 1

No, Tom and Jerry smoking shouldn't be an issue. When Tom and Jerry were made, as well as all of the cartoons from that age, smoking was viewed in an entirely different light as it is now. It was considered cool, a way to calm the nerves and the health risks weren't apparent.

It is up to the child's parents to teach their child about the dangers of smoking and to explain to them the difference between reality (the harmful side effects of smoking) and what fictional characters do on tv. The same can be said about unprotected sex, drug use, alcohol, etc.

Yes, kids can copy what they see on tv. But a parent must be responsible for teaching their child right from wrong, harmful behavior from safe behavior. It is certainly easier to blame the tv for your child doing something wrong than to step up and admit that you as a parent made a mistake when raising your child.

Answer 2

As long as they don't make smoking look glamourous in modern cartoons, there should really be no problem. Tom and Jerry is a cartoon from a past very different from the present - smoking being 'cool' is just one of the outdated issues there.

If the parent who complained wants the smoking taken out of Tom and Jerry, they should take their head from the sand and begin to live in the real world - where there are anti-smoking ads and posters and all kinds of things, a lot more prominent than two old cartoons.

Answer 3

I'm not a smoker, but I've no problem with televised images of smoking, because I can differentiate between what is real and what is not (sort of).

Children are actually a lot tougher than these people are giving them credit- they really can take it. Some of them will decide to smoke, some will decide against it, but I doubt that many of them will do so on the basis of Tom and Jerry. You can argue that smoking has no place in a children's cartoon, but by the same reasoning, neither would ultraviolence, a common part of Tom and Jerry. These guys are sort of 'It's not okay to smoke, but you can beat someone up if they're your enemy.'

Of course, some children will strive to access media that is not marked 'for children' as well- it's called being precocious, it would be unusual if it didn't happen. Attempts to restrict their ability to view smoking, as in this example, will not prevent them from seeking out even more glamorous image and enticing images on film, or even in the streets outside their houses.
The bottom line is that the world will remain as it is, however you try to censor it- it may be better to deal with it straight away, rather than delaying the issue.

Still, there are some people, clearly, who want to preserve the 'innocence' of childhood in the community. It makes me wonder though, they must be in quite a minority. They are entitled to complain, but whether that should have a knockback effect onto everyone is another question. Surely they must recognise that, if they want to protect the moral standards of their kids, it's primarily up to them- no-one else- to set an example, and to explain to their children their views of the world. Whether that's a good thing or not is another issue I think...

Answer 4

God no! People need to watch what their childern see on the electronic nanny instead abandoning them to it. Most kid are not going to smoke from watching Tom & Jerry, if that were the case then there would have been a lot more people killed by anvils falling on their heads or being flatten by a steam roller. Most kids that start smoking learn from their parents or from peers not TV. I wish people would stop expecting the rest of the world to raise their kids for them. Anyone that has a problem with this should not be allowed to breed.

Answer 5

You mean when when Jerry strikes a match and sets Tom's tail on fire, instantaneously burning his entire fur, turning it black. Yes, that was very funny.

International Rescue were were all enjoying a well-earned cigar on a recent episode of Thunderbirds. I'd say they were entitled - after all, rescuing two guys from a rocket which had fallen from a bridge and was stuck under water, with the countdown having started, is stressful business.

Answer 6

The problem is, the cartoon was shown on the Boomerang Channel, which is aimed at kids, if it was to be shown on a more general channel then I would not have a problem, but as a father of 4yr old twins, I know how impressionable they are, saying that, they also watch the Simpson's where there is smoking, so perhaps I am a hypocrite?

Answer 7

It's totally pathetic they cut those scenes out just because ONE person complained.

Who was that person - the Minister for Health???

I watched cartoons with smoking scenes as a kid, even remember the cigar adverts, and I've never smoked in my life.

People say how bad places like Iran are for restricting peoples rights and freedom, but this country is definitely going down the same road. Cutting speed limits, reducing salt and sugar in foods, saying there's something wrong with us if we don't exercise or are overweight, trying to force us to carry ID cards and ditch our currency for the Euro, telling us to use public transport when some of the politicians themselves are overweight, and drive around in gas-guzzling Jaguar cars....

I could go on... ;o)

They'll be banning alcohol soon too, under the apparent disguise of "protecting the public's health." You just wait.

Answer 8

not at all

why so ?

its the best cartoon i ever saw

tom & jerry & even those small red indians in some of the cartoon look cool smoking the cigar & then the smoke comin out of toms ears - wow its cool

i just love this cartoon

& i dont think it can effect childrens , cause u also remember that such cartoons r full of violance

Answer 9

Has anyone's cat actually started smoking as a result of watching the offending episode? I bet you not!

It's not a furball Tom, it's lung cancer!

Answer 10

No. I don't think they have nothing to do with me smoking. They are going to see people smoking everywhere. I don't think they should change them. Besides in more actual cartoons, like the Simpsoms they do show characters smoking such as Bart's aunts.