Taiwan Fears Smoking in Movies more than Violence
Are sex, drugs and rock and roll the worst influences on a growing child? Apparently not in Taiwan. The local authorities of this East Asian island are calling for dramatic changes to its current movie rating system because they consider cigarette smoking in movies to be far worse than steamy scenes or gory violence.
This ‘smoking is worse than sex’ idea was conceived by the Taiwanese Department of Health.
“Smoking (in movies) has a much worse impact on health than sex and violence,” was the claim by the department.
These folks believe that young children are more likely to emulate the smoking habits of their favorite characters in various movies and shows.
In keeping with this mentality, the authorities are planning a major alteration to the movie rating methods.
Thus, the presence of cigarette smokers in a movie, be it animated of live-action, can diminish the chance of younger kids being allowed to view that flick.
Taiwan is well-known for its strict stance on smoking. In this way, they had previously banned fancy advertising for and promotion of cigarettes.
By shinigami on 07-03-2010
