Should smoking be banned in movies?

One of the most addictive habits in the human history has come under strong scrutiny once again after protests by health activists to ban smoking in movies. Smoking cessation supporters believe that movies containing smoking scenes should be rated strictly for adult viewing only. The stressing point is that the big screen icons smoking on the screens influence a lot of fans to take up the deadly habit. How much influence do the icons smoking on the screen have on viewers? A random survey of regular movie-goers revealed that only a few of them had taken to smoking inspired by their on-screen icons.

The most common form of smoking is cigarette smoking. Cigarettes contain tobacco which is indirectly responsible for about 30 diseases including cancer, stroke and heart problems. Annually millions of people die across the globe due to smoking and smoking related diseases. Nicotine, another substance used in cigarettes, is extremely addictive and makes smoking cessation very difficult. Champix, a revolutionary product to help quit smoking, uses a twin fashioned mechanism to help smokers quit smoking. It reduces the pleasure derived from smoking and also suppresses the nicotine craving.

Smoking causes innumerable health problems such as the cancer of the lungs, liver, throat, mouth, infertility in men, high blood pressure and asthma. Quitting smoking is not difficult, but to avoid relapse is a major challenge. Unsuccessful smokers find it difficult to resist the temptation of smoking again. The movie icons are a major reason to encourage smoking both for new smokers and smokers who had quit, is the major argument of the health activists to ban smoking in movies. Whether a ban on smoking in movies or rating movies containing smoking scenes as adult movies, it will definitely help to reduce the number of new smokers to some extent.