The World Health Organisation is calling on governments to assess their current film ratings in order to prevent an increase in underage smoking,
According to the WHO, films which depict smoking or appear to glamorise tobacco products have enticed the younger generation into a habit which kills millions worldwide.
In the third edition of the WHO Smoke-Free Movies Report - From Evidence to Action, the organisation asserts that the portrayal of smoking within the film industry is one the last channels of which our children are exposed without restriction.
Commenting on the issue, WHO’s Director for the Department of Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases. Dr. Douglas Bettcher, said: "Smoking in films can be a strong form of promotion for tobacco products. The 180 Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) are obliged by international law to ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship."
Drawing down on the implementation of similar measures across the globe, Dr Armando Peruga, programme manager of WHO’s Tobacco-Free Initiative, asserts: "China has ordered that ‘excessive’ smoking scenes should not be shown in films. India has implemented new rules on tobacco imagery and brand display in domestic and imported films and TV programmes."
The aforementioned report in accordance with article 13 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recommends that a number of measures are put in place in order to prevent the occurrence of underage smoking.
The measures include mandatory age classification ratings for films with tobacco imagery, the certification in movie credits that film producers received nothing of value from anyone in exchange for using or displaying tobacco products in a film, the end of tobacco brand display and the mandatory screening of anti-smoking advertisement before the beginning of a film.
While acknowledging that certain measures have already been implemented and new proposals are currently in the pipeline, Dr Armando Peruga, insists the fight against smoking is not over, saying: "More can and must be done."
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