Smoking Muppets

The Muppet universe is anything but a smoke-free environment, as Muppet characters are sometimes seen smoking as part of a role they are playing, for celebratory purposes, or other reasons. In many cases, the smokers in Muppet productions are stock characters with whom the habit has often been associated, such as cigar-chomping tycoons or gangsters, while at other times it's associated with a specific milieu (smoky bars or a poker game). Here is a list of characters — both human and Muppet — who have been seen smoking in Muppet and Henson productions.
When released on Disney+, the parental guidance ratings included a note that the content "contains tobacco depictions" on The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, along with select episodes of The Muppet Show and Dinosaurs which featured cigarettes and cigars. Bobby Benson's brief appearance as a street choir conductor in The Muppet Christmas Carol was altered to digitally remove his cigarette to avoid the warning.
==Muppets==
PierreFrenchRat-gallery.jpg|Pierre the French Rat smokes a cigarette at the end of a long cigarette holder.
Smoking wontkins poker.jpg|Wontkins smokes a cigarette while playing cards in a Wilkins Coffee commercial.
HarryHipster 250-1-.jpg|Harry the Hipster perpetually has a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
Monster father son sullivan smoke.jpg|On The Ed Sullivan Show, a little monster asks his dad if he'd teach him how to breathe fire, but he's "too young to smoke".
Rowlf-IBMSmokeStoryboard.jpg|Rowlf the Dog smokes a cigar in a 1966 IBM industrial film.
Snlsketch3.jpg|Wisss smokes craters like a bong in The Land of Gortch.
Goshposh.JPG|King Goshposh is almost always seen smoking. The display puppet in exhibits omits the cigar, showing the cigar hole in his mouth.
Smoking sspitch grump.jpg|Grump smokes a cigarette in the Sesame Street Pitch Reel.
Smoking tinkerdee taminella.jpg|Taminella Grinderfall as the French artist in Tales of the Tinkerdee
Big Bird's father 0030.jpg|Big Bird's Daddy is pictured with a pipe in Episode 0030.
FEM-Smoke.jpg|A Muppet woman uses a cigarette, giving the Flower-Eating Monster a stick of dynamite instead, in The Julie Andrews Hour.
0919 Big Bird detective pipe.jpg|Big Bird puffs a bubble pipe in Episode 0919
Bobby Benson.jpg|Bobby Benson smoked in most of his appearances on The Muppet Show.
Smoking jpgrosse.jpg|J. P. Grosse is almost always seen smoking a cigar.
Smoking tms101 flower.jpg|Flower-Eating Monster asks his dancing partner, "Mind if I smoke?" in episode 101 of The Muppet Show.
Smoking tms101 statler.jpg|Statler's cigar explodes in his face in episode 101 of The Muppet Show.
Smoking tms201 berlington.jpg|Burlington Bertie smokes in the UK spot from episode 201.
Smoking tms219 strangepork.jpg|Dr. Julius Strangepork smokes in "Cigarettes and Whiskey" from episode 219.
Smoking tms220 black rooster.jpg|Black Rooster in The Muppet Show episode 220; he has a coughing fit and spits out the cigarette shortly after entering
Smoking tms222 beaker.jpg|When the Electric Nose Warmer begins to smoke from overheating, Bunsen warns Beaker that smoking is bad for your health.
Smoking tms303 kermit.jpg|Kermit is given an unlit cigar by Fozzie in episode 303 of The Muppet Show.
Character.williamshakespear.jpg|William Shakespeare holds a cigar in episode 323.
Gambler cigarette.jpg|The Gambler in episode 410 of The Muppet Show.
Fozzie-cigar.jpg|In episode 412 of The Muppet Show, Billy the Bear stuffs a cigar into Fozzie's mouth that promptly explodes in his face.
TMS413 smoke hookah.gif|An Arabian Whatnot smokes a hookah in The Muppet Show episode 413.
Passthatpeacepipe.jpg|Some dogs ask to "Pass That Peace Pipe" in The Muppet Show episode 414.
parrot smoke TMS424.jpg|A parrot smokes exiting the stage after "I Go to Rio" in The Muppet Show episode 424.
Smoking tms505 whatnot.jpg|Assorted Whatnot Muppets during the "Roaring 20s" sketch in The Muppet Show episode 505.
Smoking tms506 floyd.jpg|Floyd Pepper smoked a hookah as the Caterpillar in The Muppet Show episode 506.
Smoking tms507 gonzo.jpg|In "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" Gonzo sings, "a man of my ability should be smokin' on a big cigar."
Smoking tms510 rizzo.jpg|Rizzo smokes a pipe playing the role of the burgermeister in the "Pied Piper" story from episode 510.
Producer.lewgrade.jpg|Fozzie Bear shares an unlit cigar with Lew Grade at the Variety Club of Great Britain Show Business Awards luncheon on February 7, 1978.
Smoking ernie oldkingcole.jpg|Ernie as Old King Cole calls for his pipe in a sketch, but it turns out to be for blowing bubbles.
Smoking ssnews oldkingcole.jpg|An Old King Cole Anything Muppet calls for his pipe in a Sesame Street News Flash. He quickly puts it away when he starts coughing, concluding that smoking is not healthy.
Alistair-pipe.jpg|Alistair Cookie holds a pipe in some early Monsterpiece Theater sketches, but he generally eats it instead of smoking it.
Smoking chatterly.jpg|Mr. Chatterly smoked a pipe in the Alphabet Chat segments.
1591-Pipe.jpg|Oscar the Grouch uses a pipe as a part of a photoshoot in Episode 1591.
Green Frackle smoke Better World Society Bombs.gif|The Green Frackle smokes a cigarette in the Better World Society "The War Room" PSA.
DieFraggles-UncleTravelingMatt-Ep111-Smoking.png|Uncle Traveling Matt smokes a pipe on Fraggle Rock's German co-production, during a postcard for episode 11. An edited version of the segment was later released as a Second Season DVD bonus, cutting the smoking bit.
Smoking_bugsythem.jpg|Bugsy Them smokes a cigar in Dog City.
DogCitySinger-Jerry02.jpg|One of the dogs in the Dog City opening song possesses a cigarette.
Monster5.jpg|A Frackle in episode 103 of The Jim Henson Hour.
Food6.jpg|Jacques Roach in episode 112 of The Jim Henson Hour.
Smoking jhh112 sam-ella.jpg|Sam smokes a cigarette during a commercial for a phone order collection of songs about food in The Jim Henson Hour episode 112.
MMF-Cigar.jpg|Chairman Blodgett has a cigar in the Muppet Meeting Film, "Think Bigger."
3156-Smoking.jpg|The Furry Arms Hotel has both smoking and non-smoking stalls (mentioned in episode 3156).
MTI-Cig.jpg|Mr. Bitte smokes a cigarette during "Cabin Fever" in Muppet Treasure Island.
300px-Phenomena.jpg|Paintings of a cat and dog smoke a filtered cigarette and a pipe in Muppets Tonight episode 107
Moby.jpg|Moby smokes a pipe (underwater) in Muppets Tonight episode 110.
pepe cigar MT202.jpg|Seymour attempts to whip a cigar out of Pepe's mouth in Muppets Tonight episode 202
Smoking mt212 statwal.jpg|Statler and Waldorf smoke cigars in Muppets Tonight episode 212.Statler: "This show reminds me of a twenty-five cent cigar." Waldorf: "Oh, yeah? Why is that?" Statler: "Because it's cheap and it stinks!"
Smoking_loews_dragon.jpg|In "Don't Forget to Watch the Movie," Benny Rabbit says that smoking in the theater is illegal and ejects a smoking dragon from the theater.
Smoking_latelate_pepe.jpg|Pepe the King Prawn takes a puff of Craig Ferguson's pipe during a December 2005 appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
==Humans==
Smoking wilsonmeats jerrjuhl.jpg|Jerry Juhl smokes a pipe in the 2nd Wilson's Meats meeting film.
Johnmagnetico.jpg|Juhl as John Magnetico smokes a cigar in a Bell Data Communications Seminar film.
Charliemagnetico.jpg|Juhl as Charlie Magnetico again smokes a pipe in a Bell Data Communications Seminar film.
0059 smoking balloon man.jpg|Balloon salesman in Sesame Street Episode 0059
Smoking santaswitch cosmo.jpg|Cosmo Scam is handed a cigar by Snarl the "cigar box Frackle".
Lunch.jpg|Elliott Gould in Out to Lunch.
Tms pd panel.jpg|Phyllis Diller in a deleted scene from The Muppet Show episode 118
Smoking tms204 richlittle.jpg|Rich Little in The Muppet Show episode 204 while impersonating Humphrey Bogart.
210-17.jpg|George Burns smokes in every scene of his episode of The Muppet Show.
Smoking tms404 liza minelli.jpg|Liza Minnelli at the beginning of "Copacabana" in episode 414 of The Muppet Show.
Coburn14.jpg|James Coburn smokes in multiple scenes from The Muppet Show episode 505.
Smoking tms508 senorwences.jpg|Señor Wences in The Muppet Show episode 508.
Smoking tms518 martyfeldman.jpg|Marty Feldman in The Muppet Show episode 518.
Wally boag smokes in bed.jpg|Wally Boag says he smokes in bed in The Muppet Show episode 520, but doesn't specify what he smokes.
Wally Boag rolls a cigarette.jpg|Wally Boag rolls a cigarette (and eats it) while Annie Sue sings "while that cyclone bucked and flitted, Pecos rolled a smoke and lit it" in episode 520.
El Sleezo Smokers.jpg|El Sleezo Cafe patrons...
Smoking tmm mooney.jpg|...Mad Man Mooney, and...
Smoking tmm welles.jpg|...Lew Lord smoke cigars in The Muppet Movie.
Peter Falk cigar.jpg|Peter Falk's character holds a lit cigar in The Great Muppet Caper.
Smoking Tony Clifton.jpg|Tony Clifton smokes a cigarette in The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show.
Smoking George Hamilton.jpg|George Hamilton chomps a cigar in The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show.
Postcard114.jpg|Uncle Traveling Matt writes a postcard about "mouth-burners" in the Fraggle Rock episode "The Challenge"
FR316 Tabaco Shop.jpg|Silly Creatures frequent a Tabaco Shop in the Fraggle Rock episode "The Battle of Leaking Roof"
Smoking comedy club.jpg|Two patrons of The Comedy Store smoke in Miss Piggy's Hollywood.
Smoking Martin Price.jpg|Martin Price smokes a cigarette as he cons the Muppets in The Muppets Take Manhattan.
Smoke Cigars at Pete's.jpg|A patron of Pete's Luncheonette smokes a cigar in The Muppets Take Manhattan.
Smoking_mfs_guard.jpg|An invisible Pepe tells a C.O.V.N.E.T. Guard that "Smoking is very bad for you, okay" in Muppets from Space.
Martintheproducer.jpg|Martin chomps on a cigar in Muppets from Space. Backstage, a sign reads "positively no smoking."
==Animation and Illustrations==
1976_sesame_calendar_11_november_1.jpg|An Anything Muppet smokes a peace pipe in The Sesame Street 1976 Calendar.
AlphabetMachine-Smoking.jpg|In an animated Sesame Street segment about the alphabet, the letter O is presented as smoke rings from someone's cigar. 
Epiblas-4.jpg|Bert smokes a cigar, in character as Yanez from the Sandokan stories, on the cover of a Spanish Sesame Street comic book and in the interior comic story "El Pequeño Sandokan" (published between 1976 and 1979).
Sherlockbunsen.jpg|Bunsen assures Beaker that smoking is unhealthy as he blows bubbles from his pipe in "The Muppet Broadcasting Company."
Smoking_allstars_babies.jpg|Marijuana manifests as "Smoke" in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue inducing a coughing fit in Baby Gonzo, Baby Kermit and Baby Piggy.
MuppetBabiesComic23.jpg|A tourist smokes a cigar on the cover of Muppet Babies #23.
Ernie-rockwell.gif|Ernie smokes a bubble pipe in a Norman Rockwell spoof.
==TheTruth.com commercial==
thumb|300px|TheTruth.com commercial
In 2007, a television commercial for the anti-cigarette "truth" campaign aired, using a Muppet-like body costume as commentary in response to a 1979 document they suggest was meant to advertise smoking to pre-school children. The PSA was produced by the American Legacy Foundation and discussed details behind how Philip Morris, a major tobacco company, paid to have its products appear in The Muppet Movie (particularly the cigars used by the El Sleezo waiter, Mad Man Mooney, and Lew Lord)"'Muppet Movie' cigars weren't just props." The News and Observer (Raleigh NC). March 21, 1998. Retrieved from Tobaccodocuments.org ten years after an executive from that same company stated that they would never attempt to market cigarettes to children. To comment on the apparent hypocrisy between these two actions, the commercial then showed a man in a Muppet-like costume wandering the streets, confusing adults and delighting children. 
The commercial ignored the fact that the Muppets were not a children-only audience at the time the film was released, and thus implied that the placement of cigars in The Muppet Movie would have only been done to target children. The commercial also implied through its visuals that Muppets were smoking in the movie. This is not true. The only characters who smoked in the movie were humans; no Muppets smoked in The Muppet Movie. (Only peripherally related: following completion of filming his cameo for The Muppet Movie, Orson Welles sent Jim Henson a drawing of Kermit smoking a cigar with the caption, "For Jim. With thanks and fond regards.")Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal, page 121
==See also==
* Muppets imbibing alcohol
* Drug use
==Sources==
;Notes
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Category:Character Lists
Category:Rumors
Category:Adult Themes