It's anyone choice weather or not they decide to start or stop smoking but saying that anime is the cause of smoking, is like saying that 'THE MATRIX' made me become a computer hacker and start shooting people in black suits.
Sure small children look at others and immitate what they see most of the time, and this is the debate as to why it is that the Phillip Morrison group was charged with 'subjective advertising to minors', by placing billboard ads of a camel smoking, to close to schools and playgrounds. <yes i'm talking about the one and only Joe Camel, who smoked the cigarettes we know as CAMELS>.
When questioned as to why they stole cigarettes from there parents, or began smoking, young children would reply: "It looked cool from the billboard"
so if you find yourself smoking crack, shooting heroin, sniffing pcp or angel dust; and you say it's from a movie or cartoon....
you got some serious problems and need to seek rehab right away.