Janice Milliman, Quit Coach, Service Delivery

Last weekend while watching TV with my 7 year-old son I saw that The Jetsons was on. I changed the channel, somewhat against his wishes, because I was excited to show him what I watched as a child. With his vivid imagination I also thought he'd enjoy the cool technology the Jetsons had (just the other day he talked about inventing a machine that would "make you whatever food you wanted," something Jane Jetson might know something about).

What surprised me most when watching the show was the number of characters who lit up and the frequency with which they smoked. I wasn't concerned about my son being influenced. The education in school and conversations at home help him understand why it's important to avoid tobacco. I guess I had just forgotten how prevalent smoking was in cartoons of my era.

In the 10 minutes or so that my son would "allow" us to watch The Jetsons, three of the main characters smoked a cigar. George Jetson, in the show’s intro, smokes a cigar after getting home from a hard day's work. His whole family greets him. He unwinds in his favorite chair with a cigar, slippers and all. Mr. Spacely, George Jetson's boss, is usually seen smoking a cigar too. He partakes even while in the office, as was common in the 1960s. In the same episode Mr. Cogs, who is Mr. Spacely's boss (George's boss's boss), also enjoys a cigar.

There are certainly more beloved cartoon characters who have lit up a time or two on screen. Tom & Jerry enjoyed a cigar while bonding in one episode. The Cheshire Cat smoked hookah. And then there's Popeye.

In 2006 Turner Broadcasting UK, Boomerang's parent company, planned to review and remove references of smoking from their cartoons in Britain. At that time the Turner Broadcasting U.S. affiliate also planned to review its policies. As a parent I'm probably expected to advocate for censoring deadly habits in children's programming.

Although I don't want my kids to be exposed to negative influences on TV, I think their biggest influence to remain tobacco free is my husband an myself. We choose what our children watch and talk openly about situations that arise that we may not agree with. Fortunately for us in 2010, the children's programs that my kids actually want to watch (no offense, Mr. Jetson) don't involve tobacco at all. So here's a big thanks to Dora, Kai-lan and the Backyardigans for setting a good example all around.