I don't know. This has actually been a debate in the comic book imductry for a few years now. A few years ago, Joe Quesada (the editor for Marvel) put a ban on smoking in Marvel. comics. When a lot of the characters were originally created ,smoking wasn't as big of a deal. People didn't really understand/worry about the side effects. A few longtime fans complained because Wolverine, Thing, and a few others who had lit up before, now didn't.
His respnose was simple, "Name one that smoking has ever affected the character or the story."
Now I don't like the idea of editing a movie or tv series, just for the sake of this. What's done is done and in some cases editing out a scene or character just becasue they have a cigar or cigarette in their hand will do more dmage to they story. But I DO support the idea of characters not smoking. I think it's a filthy habit that deosn't need any more promotion that it already gets and like the editor at Marvel, I defy anyone to tell me how any Muppet or cartoon character is defined by their smoking.
--Matleo