Chainsmoker Cat pulled in HK over tobacco ad ban

A Taiwan-based streaming platform has taken down the Japanese anime series Chainsmoker Cat (尼古喵喵) for viewers in Hong Kong as the show violates Hong Kong's rules that ban online ads for smoking.

Animation Crazy (巴哈姆特動畫瘋), a streaming platform run by Taiwanese gaming and anime community site Bahamut, said on its Facebook page yesterday (17 August) that it had received a letter from Hong Kong's Department of Health about Chainsmoker Cat. The department said the show's content broke Hong Kong's rules under the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance, which bans online ads for smoking products.

Animation Crazy said it will immediately suspend the broadcast of Chainsmoker Cat in Hong Kong to comply with local regulations and the requirements of Hong Kong’s Department of Health. The platform said Hong Kong users could apply for a refund if they wished. “We deeply regret and apologise for this situation, and we offer our most sincere apologies to our users in Hong Kong,” the post reads.

The post has drawn considerable attention from netizens discussing the removal of Chainsmoker Cat in Hong Kong, amassing over 2,600 likes, 270 comments, and 640 shares. While some questioned the rationale behind the ban, others humorously remarked that they had never seen the Hong Kong government promote a smoking ban.

Under Hong Kong's Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance, all forms of smoking product ads are banned from being published or shared online. Anyone found guilty can be fined up to HK$50,000, plus an extra HK$1,500 for each day the violation continues.

Chainsmoker Cat is a dark comedy slice-of-life anime and manga about Yaniko, a broke, unemployed catgirl whose heavy smoking habit completely ruins her life. She lives in filth, keeps losing jobs, and her frustrated family constantly tries to step in and help, usually with chaotic results. The manga launched in Japan in 2023, followed by the anime TV series this July.

While the show is removed on Animation Crazy’s Hong Kong site, it is still available on the US-based streaming platform Netflix, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE confirmed. 

The Department of Health has told local media outlets such as Singtao Headline that the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office earlier received a public complaint that an animation title on two online platforms was suspected of containing tobacco advertisements, including repeated clear displays of tobacco products and brand names. After investigation, the office issued notices to the relevant platforms under the relevant provisions of the ordinance, requiring them to stop any publication that may violate tobacco advertising laws. It said it will continue to follow up on the complaint.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to The Department of Health and Netflix for a statement respectively. 

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This is not the first time a film has been accused of promoting smoking through cigarette scenes. The Hong Kong movie The Last Dance (破．地獄), released in late 2024, featured several characters smoking, drawing criticism from the Council on Smoking and Health. Its social media page posted that such scenes could mislead audiences into thinking smoking solves problems or looks cool. The council called for an end to smoking scenes in films and TV shows.

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