Here come the men in black…lung. In the new movie starring Will Smith, which appeals to a huge demographic including a large portion of young adults and kids, some of the most endearing characters are smoking cigarettes and the World Health Organization (WHO) is not happy about it. In fact, they are recommending slapping adult ratings on movies with scenes that depict smoking, an approach that some anti-tobacco advocates believe could deter kids from picking up the nasty habit.
In the new “guidelines,” Christopher Millett, a public health expert at Imperial College London, and his co-authors from the UC San Francisco Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, director Dr. Stanton Glantz, and consultant Jonathan Polansky, said that some governments provide “generous subsidies to the U.S. film industry” for movies that indirectly promote tobacco use in youngsters.
WHO would like to turn that around with a policy that relies on economic disincentives, such as making sure that films that include tobacco use are ineligible for public subsidies.
However, the film industry is pushing back. They have discounted the strength of published estimates suggesting that 390,000 American youngsters smoke because of what they see onscreen, or that imposing adult ratings on films that include actors smoking would likely prevent 200,000 youngsters from becoming smokers. The figures fail to take into account that kids are drawn to smoking by far more than just what they see at the movies, they said.
To the credit of plain logic, kids can easily do an end run around restrictions by watching movies at friends’ houses or downloading them either legally, or illegally, from the Web.
There are also the issues of censorship in the United States constitutionally. The industry also is objecting to censorship of movies, books, art or theater as a means of tackling public health issues. censorship might turn off citizens and politicians who would otherwise support stricter tobacco control measures, such as blocking “commercial product placement by the tobacco industry.”
Okay that’s all well and fine, but what about “responsible” portrayal of smoking or quitting, or even e-cigarettes for example?
Johnny Depp plays Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart, meets Elise, an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path. In the 2011 movie The Tourist, Depp “lights up” an electronic cigarette throughout the film and explains all of the benefits to Angelina Jolie on a train.
Electronic cigarettes boast of no carcinogens, no cigarette butts, no second hand smoke, no smelly cars and homes and restaurants, no yellow teeth and no tobacco. Statistically an estimated 25.6 million men (25.2%) and 22.6 million women (20.7%) living in the United States are smokers, says the American Heart Association. Smokers are pilloried for smoking tobacco. They struggle with the social and health stigmas associated with their smoking habits.
E-Cigarettes are the all new electronic smoking alternative that looks and feels just like a cigarette, but instead of burning tobacco and producing smoke, it vaporizes a nicotine liquid called e-liquid into a tar free, and odorless vapor.
The vapor is exactly like smoke and is produced automatically during every puff of the electronic cigarette. It does this using an airflow sensor that detects every drag of the e-cigarette. Once activated, a red led light at the end gradually starts to glow reddish orange to resemble the look and experience of smoking a real cigarette. The electronic cigarette experience is so close and identical to the real thing that many smokers make the switch after the first try.
Electronic cigarettes are tar free, odorless, do not produce smoke, second hand smoke, or carbon monoxide. They never have to be lit, they do not produce cigarette butts or ash, they will not smell up a house or car, and they greatly reduce the risk of fire. They can save a substantial amount of money when compared to buying traditional packs because only refillable cartridges are purchased which are much cheaper overall.
These “E-Cigarettes” can be smoked just about anywhere and one can even choose the desired level of nicotine delivery. Electronic cigarettes are becoming more and more popular every day within the smoking community and are becoming known as a highly accepted, smoker approved, alternative to tobacco.
Ultimately, “R” rated movies are intended for persons over the age of 18, and those persons are allowed to make their own choices. However a movie like Men In Black for example is boasting a “PG” rating and supposedly promotes smoking habits with endearing characters. It remains to be seen if the film industry takes head of the World Health Organization’s efforts to reduce the participation of the youth in this deadly activity.
Written by Sy Kraft