Zhang added that he hoped young people would agree that the non-smoking soldier is “much cooler” than his predecessor. “Enterprises, and especially well-known ones, should shoulder the responsibility and do their part to create a smoke-free China.” “Tencent’s decision has come a little late, but given that it’s such a ubiquitous social platform, it’s good that it has taken the lead as a no-smoking role model,” Zhang was quoted as saying. Zhang Jianzhong, president of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, told Beijing Daily his organization even personally contacted Tencent’s CEO, Ma Huateng - also known as Pony Ma - to raise awareness about the message the symbol was sending. The association, in turn, lobbied the city’s cyberspace authorities to resolve the matter.īoth QQ - another Tencent-owned messaging app - and Weibo removed their tobacco-using emojis in late 2017, but WeChat’s smoking soldier persisted, seemingly undeterred.

According to an article Sunday by state-run newspaper Beijing Daily, anti-smoking campaigners in Beijing first reported “smoking emojis” on social platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and QQ to the city’s tobacco control association in 2017. WeChat has been under pressure to reconsider its tobacco-related messaging for years.

The platform declined an interview request Monday, and a source within the company told Sixth Tone that staff had been asked not to discuss the matter with the media. WeChat has been reticent to say more about what prompted the change, which came with the Version 8.0.0 update earlier this year and has since gone largely unnoticed. | Right: The platform’s new “soldier face” emoji, after he adopted healthier habits.

Left: WeChat’s previous “soldier face” emoji, with its trademark cigar.

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