MovieChat Forums > The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) Discussion > Smoking on the air

Smoking on the air

posted 9 years ago by jimbofinesse
6 replies | jump to latest

Hi folks. I'm a Gen X guy. I started staying up late to watch Carson on random nights sometime in the early/mid 80s. I don't remember ever seeing Johnny smoke on the show when I was a kid.

But, with the Antenna TV reruns they've been showing from the 70s I can see that smoking at the desk was once an accepted thing. Also, some of the other channels have been running Merv Griffin and Dick Cavett reruns and I see folks smoking on those shows too.

So, my question is for the Baby Boomers out there. Was there a specific year when legislation and/or FCC rules caused smoking on the air to be officially banned? Or, did the networks phase it out on their own as a a response to changing attitudes regarding smoking among the public at large?

Thanks folks.

[–] wordsatplaytoday 9 years ago

What really makes it odd is that they stopped smoking ads back in the 60s or 70s and yet let them continue to smoke on TV.
I recently heard that if someone smokes a cig in a movie, it gets an R rating. I dunno if that is true, but it's interesting on how our attitudes have changed.
I remember when airplanes and restaurants had smoking sections.

Damn, I'm good.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] lunkerstool 9 years ago

That's true about cigarette ads. TV cigarette ads were banned in 1971. But they still to this can be seen in magazines. You don't see adds on tv for cigars or pipe tobacco either.

[–] ScarletKnights 9 years ago

There is no regulation against smoking on the air. It is a voluntary ban.

[–] kwb1965 8 years ago

I started watching The Tonight Show in 1977 and by then I think Johnny had stopped smoking on camera. I remember there were times when the camera went on him coming out of a commercial break and you would see him taking one last puff and putting the cigarette back in the tray.