Smoking in films

I put the news on this morning when I woke to feed my baby boy, only to find that someone has come up with a new way to piss off the smokers and film lovers of this world and thought it would make a fitting start to my blogs.

Making films an 18 certificate if they contain scenes of smoking!

BBC HEADLINES

Teenagers who watch films showing actors smoking are more likely to take it up, new UK research suggests.

Apparently experts made the link by questioning 5,000 15-year-olds say their findings should prompt a change in film certification so that under-18s are no longer exposed to such images.

I was a little miffed yet overall happy when they banned smoking in pubs and restaurants etc. in 2007, in the winter I now have to stand in the freezing cold to enjoy a cigarette with my pint or meal, however it also means that I don’t have some chain smoker sat over me while I’m trying to enjoy my steak and we no longer have to endure nights in the pub with soggy wet ashtrays full of stinking fag butts. I do however draw the line at making films an 18 certificate just because they show someone enjoying a ciggie.

I have been a smoker for over 10yrs, not because of peer pressure (there was plenty of it) and not because I thought it would make me look cool. I definitely did not start smoking because I saw John McClain in Die Hard do it! For the same reasons I don’t run around with a machine gun, blowing up buildings and ‘chalking up bad guys!’

Seriously, do they really think people are stupid enough to copy everything they see in the movies, I mean I know there are the odd few idiots out there that would answer yes to this question but the vast majority of movie watchers are just not that simple.

A cigarette is more of a prop in a film than anything else, it adds to a characters image along with the clothes they wear and their attitudes.

Granted smoking is bad for you, I think we are all aware of this by now. There are enough people the world over reminding us every day. I think it’s time that we start asking the people (over 18) who currently smoke why they do it and not a bunch of spotty 15yr olds, barely past puberty who, let’s face it, have no concept of what they want to do in life yet let alone understand the consequences of the random answers they give in a survey.   

Soon I won’t be able to walk down the street with cig in my hand because ill be contaminating peoples airspace and polluting youngster’s tiny little minds into thinking that smoking is cool. (It’s not by the way)

This era of political correctness is driving me mad and I for one am sick of it. People were smoking in life long before they were smoking in films, it’s just the jumped up nature of today’s ‘blame’ society needing something to whinge about and let someone else to take responsibility for their actions.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a smoker however I am also an anti smoker, I think its wrong to smoke around your kids, not because they will copy you but because it can cause health issues and that’s not what I want for my little one. People are allowed to make their own choice which is what makes this a free country. The legal age restrictions for smoking are now 18 anyway so all these 15yr olds shouldn’t be smoking in the first place. If you have to blame anyone, it should be the lack of parental discipline or failure to check ID in the shops, not the film industry.

Anyway, enough ranting from me, tell me what you think about the issue.

In the mean time I’m going out to spend £137,000 on a new Aston Martin, I saw James Bond driving one once and just have to have one! I might just blame the movies for making me buy it and see if the credit company take that as an excuse when I can’t afford the repayments!

Wish me luck!