Streaming site pulls Chainsmoker Cat series in Hong Kong over breach of ad rules

A Taiwan-based streaming platform has removed the Japanese anime series Chainsmoker Cat for Hong Kong audiences because the programme is in breach of the city’s ban on online smoking advertisements.

Animation Crazy, a streaming platform launched by Bahamut, a Taiwanese internet forum and news website, said on Monday that it recently received a letter from the Hong Kong’s Department of Health concerning Chainsmoker Cat.

The show’s content contravened rules that prohibited advertising smoking products on the internet under the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance in Hong Kong, the platform cited the department as saying.

“To comply with local regulations and the requirements of Hong Kong’s Department of Health, we will suspend the broadcast of Chainsmoker Cat in the Hong Kong region immediately,” the platform’s social media post read.

“We deeply regret and apologise for this situation, and we offer our most sincere apologies to our users in Hong Kong.”

According to the ordinance, no one should place a smoking product advertisement on the internet, with offenders facing a HK$50,000 (US$6,370) fine upon summary conviction and a further HK$1,500 fine for each day the offence continues.