Turkish smoking watchdog imposes fine on 'Tin Tin' creators

With smoking cessation campaigns reaching boiling point worldwide, Turkey have become the latest country to tackle the problem head on, this time through banning smoking in cartoons, namely the cult hit kids show, ‘Tin Tin’.

The iconic cartoon depicts a fictional boy detective, created by Belgian writer, Herge. The creators have recently been the subject of criticism because of a new episode, which involves smoking. The villains were presented smoking cigarettes and cigars which governing bodies believe to be inappropriate viewing for children.

Experts believe this to be a direct contravention of Turkey’s stringent anti tobacco laws. RTUK, their broadcasting watchdog slapped the TV8 channel with a substantial fine.

The ruling now means that strict laws will regulate broadcasters in turkey, preventing them from broadcasting tobacco ads or product placements.

Further problems for the creators

The ruling, passed 12 months ago, means that broadcasters are now obligated to blur any image related to smoking. The fresh law also leaves them vulnerable to additional fines with the likes of sidekick, Captain Haddock, famously smoking a pipe throughout every episode. An extra episode created last year also shows a character named Hector Alembick who they depict to be a chain smoker.

However, a number of channels have fought the ruling successfully. E2, another private channel was fined for smoking in ‘Mad Men’. Multiple smoking scenes had been called to question although the creators successfully overturned the decision from RTUK to impose a fine, through its argument that the scenes were shot before the ban.

Serious issue

More younger people are taking up smoking and there is a very strong case for children’s TV to be moderated more strictly to avoid exposing younger generations to the temptation of smoking.