@SereneCrimson:
Neither do I,
for the dubbed Pharoh's Memory arc, 4Kids changed one character's cigarette into a toothpick.
and toothpicks are often used to serve h'orderves at a party, it would have worked well.. much better than a sucker atleast.
That requires more editing, which goes against the 4Kids policy of reducing costs. Adding on a suction cup to a dart or a sucker to a cigarette is easier than editing over or editing out the offensive material. In the case of Smoker, there was absolutely no way of getting around all-out editing, unless, of course, they turned his cigars into carrots.
@Sandai:
Keep in mind that the same thing happened in Rurouni Kenshin so that's new but odd since they didn't edit Torukane's Cigar in Yu Yu Hakusho.
Different dubbing. FUNimation aims at producing stuff on DVDs, then porting it to CN as an additional way to make money. I think the dubbers of Rurouni Kenshin intended it to come to cable and then go to DVD.
@Yashouzoid:
I think they should have just painted it off entirely.
Random fact: in the GBA game, he has a candycane.
What a strange company, especially because buying with real money for an edited game or movie is just a crock. 4Kids didn't edit Yu-Gi-Oh: The Movie, their eighty million dollar turkey, so why go out of the way to edit One Piece?
…
I browsed through Anime News Network and read old articles concerning complaints about FUNimation getting FMA, and people being relieved the company failed to aquire One Piece. It's quite funny, really.