Taiwan's health minister says a popular Japanese anime breaks the island's tobacco advertising law, and streaming platforms have already dropped it — bad news for the show's distributors and its fans.

• The series shows recognizable cigarette brands up close and smoking scenes with no health warning, which Taiwan's law does not allow.
• An anti-smoking group reported the show, and several local streaming services pulled it soon after.
• Anime fans are angry, saying the cat's nicotine addiction is really an anti-smoking message and that the takedown hurts creative freedom.
• The rules apply to foreign shows sold in Taiwan, so whoever distributes it there could be fined up to about US$32,000.

Outlook: Local health authorities are now investigating, and the show is likely to stay off Taiwanese platforms unless the smoking scenes are edited or blurred.