A proposal to ban smoking in French films has been met with splutters of indignation in a land raised on images of puffing, pouting silver-screen stars.
The
idea was floated last week by a senator from the opposition Socialist Party,
Nadine Grelet-Certenais, during a parliamentary debate on how to help the
French quit smoking.
Quoting
a study that found 70 percent of new French films show at least one character
lighting up, the senator accused filmmakers of painting smoking in a positive
light.
“It
trivialises and even promotes smoking, particularly among children and
teenagers who are the biggest consumers of these films on the internet,” she
argued.
Health
Minister Agnes Buzyn, a trained doctor who has pushed through a series of price
hikes that will take a pack of cigarettes from 7 euros currently to 10 euros,
said she was in “total agreement” with the senator.
“I
don’t understand the importance of cigarettes in French cinema,” she said,
vowing “strong action” to end the “trivialising of smoking on social media and
in films.”
Smoking-related
diseases are the leading cause of preventable deaths in France and the starring
role of cigarettes in French cinema has long drawn blame for the lasting allure
of smoking among the country’s youth.
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