In what is being hailed as a groundbreaking move, Walt Disney Studios today made the decision to snuff out smoking from its family flicks.
The official announcement came it a letter to U.S. Representative Edward Markey, chairman of the House Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee. Disney Studio execs wrote that they would be “discouraging depictions of cigarette smoking in its films and plan to place an anti-smoking public service announcements on DVDs of any future film that does depict smoking.”
Disney bigwigs also added that they would be encouraging theatre owners to run anti-smoking PSAs before Disney movies.
The media giant’s chief executive also said that depictions of smoking in future Disney-branded films would be “non-existent”. What’s more, smoking would be “discouraged” in films aimed at adults released under its Touchstone and Miramax banners.
That’s quite a promise.
For his part Markey applauded Disney’s move. He said that the studio sets a great example regarding public health and that other media companies should follow Disney’s lead.
Naturally, anti-smoking groups are pleased by Disney’s commitment to kick the habit. Several anti-smoking groups went public today saying that they hope it’s the beginning of a “domino effect as other studios come into line.”
One anti-tobacco organization pointed to research that showed images of smoking in movies influences teens to light up. According to one the largest U.S. based anti-smoking groups, an estimated 400,000 teen smokers light up for the first time each year. So eliminating images that puts smoking in a positive light is enormously important.
That said, as a fan of Disney movies I must admit that I haven’t seen many recent movies where smoking was prevalent. Of course, there is Disney’s “101 Dalmatians, which shows villainous Cruella De Vil chain smoking (or at least rarely without a cigarette holder in her mouth), but that movie came out in 1961.
Personally, I applaud Disney’s move. I took a Communications Arts course in college where we had to count how many times images of smoking appeared on the big screen—too many. All were gratuitous in my opinion.
Where do you stand? Do you think other movie studios will follow Disney’s lead?
Michele blogs full time in Travel and Pop Culture. You can read her blogs here.
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