Doctors call for a cut down in on screen smoking
Many doctors have called for regulations to be placed on films featuring smoking.
A recent study found that 7 in 10 blockbuster films contain tobacco products and often excessive amounts of smoking even if they are rated as under 15.
Nottingham University conducted the study which was later published in medical journal Thorax. The study investigated the biggest UK box office hits between 1989 and 2008 and found that 15 films contained smoking or references to smoking.
The authors of the study are said to have called upon the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to take smoking references into consideration when rating films, in line with current policies on the depiction of drug use and violence.
Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians believes that if children are protected from images of hard drug use with an 18 certification, similar guidelines should be in place for films which glamorise, show or promote smoking.
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