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Major Movie Company Eliminates Smoking from Films

Cruelle
New Disney villains
won't be smoking anymore.
C
ruella De Vil is going to have to put out her cigarette. In 101 Dalmatians, the evil puppy-napper De Vil smokes cigarettes through a long skinny holder. But characters in Walt Disney Company movies won’t be clouding up the big screen anymore. The company recently banned images of smoking from all Disney-branded films. If smoking does appear in a future film, an anti-smoking message will appear at the beginning of the movie.

Disney vowed to stamp out smoking in its films after a request from U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.). He recently held a meeting in Washington, D.C., about eliminating smoking from films.

Smoke Free Movies, an organization that lobbies to rid movies of smoking, praised Disney’s decision. The organization researched smoking in Disney’s youth-related films from 1999 to 2006. The study found that 89 out of 138 of the films had smoking in them. Stanton A. Glantz heads Smoke Free Movies. He says that showing characters smoking in movies encourages kids to smoke. “The more smoking in the movies the kids see, the more they’re going to smoke. You want to reduce that,” Glanz says. “[Movie studios] are now recognizing this is a problem. This is a baby step in the right direction.”

Kicking the Habit
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the organization responsible for rating movies, is also studying the issue of smoking in movies. The MPAA is considering whether to give an R rating to any movie with smoking in it.

no smoking For years, federal laws have made it more difficult for cigarette companies to advertise to kids. In the past, tobacco companies sponsored radio and television programs so they could advertise cigarettes. In 1971, the government banned cigarette companies from doing so.

Universal, another major movie company, announced last April that it would restrict smoking in films. Markey hopes other movie companies will join the cause. “Now it’s time for other media companies to similarly kick the habit,” he says.

The American Cancer Society states that there are very good reasons to keep kids from smoking. The organization estimates that smoking causes about 438,000 deaths each year.

Critial Thinking Questions
What do you think of Disney’s decision? Do you think other movie companies will stop showing cigarette smoking? Why or why not?

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