Wednesday 14 October 2009

Smoking and Films consultation

This consultation ... which I've blogged about earlier... finished on Monday this week. I dont' know the results yet and I suspect the Licensing Committee will get them first.
I still feel that it would be wrong for Liverpool to attempt to put 18 certificates on films that show smoking (without some negative message about smoking) and I hope the consultation has shown that people agree with that view. I have done a Freedom of Information Question to the PCT about the cost of the marketing during this consultation. I was pretty appalled to see a full page ad in the Metro and both I and my students have spotted outdoor advertising too. I haven't had an answer yet. Under the law the reply is due by 28th October. I'll post the information here when I get it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm in thorough agreement with you about this proposal. Have you any idea where the campaign group got their research from? I ask because their central hypothesis about the percentage of people who start smoking because of films sounds asbsolutely ludicrous to me.

Paula Keaveney said...

They have published material which references research but it seems to be about the influence of all sorts of visual images and I can't see how films can be singled out. I also can't see how you can prove a causal link as this can surely only be done by questioning people who won't necessarily know what influenced them to take up smoking.