Doctors fume at glamorisation of smoking in films

News in pictures
News in pictures
On Facebook
Life & Style blogs

CC kills more people than cervical cancer; why haven’t we heard about it?

There is a disease whose incidence is rising in the UK and most of the industrialised world. However...

Time for a new approach to alcohol

Ambulances were called and three drunk teenagers were brought to my care. One was so drunk we had to...

London Fashion Week countdown

London Fashion Week is nearly upon us (again) and the invites are fast piling up. Our fashion team w...

Suggested Topics

Film stars who smoke on screen should attract the attention of the censor in the same way as they would if they were engaged in extreme sex or violence, doctors say.

Films that show smoking in a way that "condones, encourages or glamorises" the activity should be considered for reclassification – restricting them to an older audience, the British Medical Association said. The association called yesterday for new curbs on the promotion of smoking in the media and said the Government should set a target to make England smoke-free by 2035.

More than one in five adults smokes and most start before they are 18 when they are most vulnerable to images that "increase the allure of the habit", the BMA said in a report from its board of science.

The portrayal of smoking in films declined from 1950 to 1990, but has since increased. The poster for the 1994 movie Pulp Fiction, showing a sultry Uma Thurman smoking, was a gift to the tobacco industry and an example of the sort of image the BMA wants to outlaw. In the US, smoking has increased in films targeted at teenagers since 2002, the report says.

The BMA says films showing smoking in a positive light should also be preceded by an anti-smoking advert. A similar strategy to curb the promotion of cigarettes on television led to the voluntary withdrawal of tobacco advertising in the 1970s.

Cigarettes should be banned from sale in vending machines, removed from display in shops and supermarkets and presented in plain packaging, the report says. The UK has one of the most comprehensive tobacco control policies in Europe with a ban on smoking in public places, an advertising ban, regular tax increases, an increase in the minimum age for buying cigarettes (from 16 to 18) and health warnings on packets. But further efforts to reduce the appeal of smoking to the young are essential to achieve the goal of eliminating it, the BMA says.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

How an abortion divided America

How an abortion divided America

Single mother who took a pill to end her pregnancy is now fighting a landmark prosecution in a conservative state
Can you master a language in a weekend?

Can you master a language in a weekend?

Ed Cooke insists he can use his techniques as a memory expert to help novices learn even the hardest tongues.
The 10 best heaters

The 10 best heaters

From the DeLonghi Retro Fan Heater to the Dimplex MicroFire
Coming soon to a shelf near you: The publishing industry has gone mad for film-style trailers

Coming soon to a shelf near you

The publishing industry has gone mad for film-style trailers
Mad, bad and delightful to know: How Lord Byron became a cultural superstar

How Lord Byron became a cultural superstar

As the poet takes centre stage in the West End, Boyd Tonkin looks into the life of the outspoken champion of the poor
Did they all live happily ever after? That's up to you...

Did they all live happily ever after? That's up to you...

New digital novel will overturn centuries of literary tradition by allowing readers to choose how they would like story to end
How to look good for less – Primark in copycat row

How to look good for less – Primark in copycat row

With London Fashion Week starting tomorrow, designers are closeted in studios putting finishing touches to their collections
James Lawton: Arsène and Arsenal are living in the past

James Lawton

Arsène and Arsenal are living in the past
How Docherty's resurgent Reds beat Dutch greats

How Docherty's resurgent Reds beat Dutch greats

United have met Ajax only once before in Europe, in 1976. The key performers recall an electric occasion
Civil war at Ajax

Civil war at Ajax

A rift between two club legends has torn the Dutch giants apart
Lewis Moody: For an idea of where England are headed, look at Wales now

Lewis Moody column

For an idea of where England are headed, look at Wales now
Geoff Toovey: Little gem with huge incentive to become king of the world

Geoff Toovey interview

Little gem with huge incentive to become king of the world
Picture preview: Portrait of London

Portrait of London

Picture preview
No secularism please, we're British

No secularism please, we're British

Arguments about the role of religion in national life have recently acquired a new urgency
Harold Tillman: 'Chinese tourists can save the high street – if we let them'

Harold Tillman interview

'Chinese tourists can save the high street – if we let them'