States Want Anti-Smoking Spots on DVDs
09-08-06, 10:42 AM
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States Want Anti-Smoking Spots on DVDs
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hoping to reduce teen smoking, attorneys general from more than 35 states on Thursday offered movie studios free use of three public-service announcements to be included on DVDs and videos.
The move came nearly a year after 32 attorneys general sent a similar letter urging studios to add PSAs to home-viewing releases that depict smoking.
"I was deeply disappointed by the industry's failure to heed our initial call," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement.
"We urge movie makers to do the right thing and include these powerful and persuasive anti-smoking ads on all DVDs and videos that depict tobacco use," he said.
Studios referred calls to the Motion Picture Association of America.
MPAA spokeswoman Kori Bernards said it was too early to comment on whether studios would accept the offer to use the PSAs.
"We will formally respond to them in a timely manner and look forward to future discussions with them," Bernards said.
She added that the entertainment industry recognizes smoking is a serious health problem, and the MPAA is working with the Harvard School of Public Health on anti-smoking initiatives. Bernards declined to elaborate.
The attorneys general blame films that show smoking for influencing hundreds of thousands of U.S. adolescents to begin lighting up every year.
They cited a 2005 study released by Dartmouth Medical School that found 38 of every 100 youths who tried smoking did so because of their exposure to smoking in movies.
The attorneys general said 73 percent of all youth-rated movies show tobacco use.
"This may not be an offer they can't refuse, but it should be an offer studio executives will be happy to accept," California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said of the PSAs being offered.
The three public-service announcements are entitled "Body Bags,""1200" and "Shards O Glass."
Movie studios have heard from state prosecutors before on the smoking issue. The National Association of Attorneys General adopted a resolution in 1998 asking the entertainment industry to limit tobacco use in films.
Members also met with studio heads and former MPAA President Jack Valenti in 2003 to discuss the impact of on-screen smoking on young movie watchers.
The anti-smoking messages were created by the American Legacy Foundation, which runs national advertisements designed to prevent teens from smoking.
The move came nearly a year after 32 attorneys general sent a similar letter urging studios to add PSAs to home-viewing releases that depict smoking.
"I was deeply disappointed by the industry's failure to heed our initial call," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement.
"We urge movie makers to do the right thing and include these powerful and persuasive anti-smoking ads on all DVDs and videos that depict tobacco use," he said.
Studios referred calls to the Motion Picture Association of America.
MPAA spokeswoman Kori Bernards said it was too early to comment on whether studios would accept the offer to use the PSAs.
"We will formally respond to them in a timely manner and look forward to future discussions with them," Bernards said.
She added that the entertainment industry recognizes smoking is a serious health problem, and the MPAA is working with the Harvard School of Public Health on anti-smoking initiatives. Bernards declined to elaborate.
The attorneys general blame films that show smoking for influencing hundreds of thousands of U.S. adolescents to begin lighting up every year.
They cited a 2005 study released by Dartmouth Medical School that found 38 of every 100 youths who tried smoking did so because of their exposure to smoking in movies.
The attorneys general said 73 percent of all youth-rated movies show tobacco use.
"This may not be an offer they can't refuse, but it should be an offer studio executives will be happy to accept," California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said of the PSAs being offered.
The three public-service announcements are entitled "Body Bags,""1200" and "Shards O Glass."
Movie studios have heard from state prosecutors before on the smoking issue. The National Association of Attorneys General adopted a resolution in 1998 asking the entertainment industry to limit tobacco use in films.
Members also met with studio heads and former MPAA President Jack Valenti in 2003 to discuss the impact of on-screen smoking on young movie watchers.
The anti-smoking messages were created by the American Legacy Foundation, which runs national advertisements designed to prevent teens from smoking.
09-08-06, 10:51 AM
#2
That's all we need...more shit to wade through before the unstoppable animated menus begin. At this rate, I'll fall asleep before the movie plays, since we will also need PSA's for domestic violence, safe sex, drinking responsibly, racism, excessive speed driving, piracy, and setting your neighbor's cat on fire. Let lazy-ass parents teach their kids, not a DVD player.
09-08-06, 11:55 AM
#5
Banned
Some politicians have no resepct for the concept of limited government.
DVDs are a consumer product that are designed with the consumer in mind. The government should have no say in this.
This is why the free market is superior to a government planned economy.
DVDs are a consumer product that are designed with the consumer in mind. The government should have no say in this.
This is why the free market is superior to a government planned economy.
09-08-06, 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by matome
Let lazy-ass parents teach their kids, not a DVD player.
09-08-06, 01:57 PM
#11
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I wonder, if they actually go through with this, if it could make showing smoking in movies okay again. Adding warning labels to records led to more profanity in them, and the rating system for video games led to more violence in games.
09-08-06, 02:11 PM
#13
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I don't see what the big deal is. This is no different from the PSA before Die Hard that tells us running through glass barefoot before jumping off a building while attached to a firehose at the waist can be dangerous.
das
das
09-08-06, 02:13 PM
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Originally Posted by RyoHazuki
Who doesn't know that smoking is bad yet?
09-08-06, 02:27 PM
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does anybody have an idea how much space on a disc is taken up by the piracy ad they put on it? I know it's not much but it will begin to add up once you put 3 or 4 of those things on a disc.
Maybe on a dvd from the food network they should have an ad about cholesterol. Or on an adult dvd they should have a warning saying "this situation will never happen in real life". Because we can't have people thinking that the delivery girl is going to give it up for a tip.
Maybe on a dvd from the food network they should have an ad about cholesterol. Or on an adult dvd they should have a warning saying "this situation will never happen in real life". Because we can't have people thinking that the delivery girl is going to give it up for a tip.
09-08-06, 03:04 PM
#16
Originally Posted by Kocheese99
does anybody have an idea how much space on a disc is taken up by the piracy ad they put on it? I know it's not much but it will begin to add up once you put 3 or 4 of those things on a disc.
09-08-06, 03:22 PM
#19
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Originally Posted by speedyray
That is horseshit, the damn piracy one is bad enough, I may start stealing movies and smoking if they keep shoving PSAs down my throat.
09-08-06, 03:29 PM
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"powerful and persuasive"?
I'd like some evidence that this nonsense is either.
Are these ads mainly gonna be on movies from the 40s and 50s? Or do they only consider recent movies to be a health hazard to those with little sales resistance?
This sounds like something Mike Judge might have included as a joke in 'Idiocracy.' And why smoking, anyway? Sex, drugs, car chases and mouthing off to Joe Pesci are MUCH more life-threatening and they don't get their own PSAs.
I'd like some evidence that this nonsense is either.
Are these ads mainly gonna be on movies from the 40s and 50s? Or do they only consider recent movies to be a health hazard to those with little sales resistance?
This sounds like something Mike Judge might have included as a joke in 'Idiocracy.' And why smoking, anyway? Sex, drugs, car chases and mouthing off to Joe Pesci are MUCH more life-threatening and they don't get their own PSAs.
09-08-06, 04:01 PM
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I think it's your local governments looking for another way of telling you what not to do because you are bad and waste their time.
It's happened here in the UK lots although it's not illegal yet to sell a dildo. My local council has decided to stop picking up rubbish (litter) on the streets for a week to teach people a lesson. What's the lesson? That they pay fucking tax and the council spend that money on thinking up ways to make the place look untidy?
It's the price we pay for Freedom. We've gotten madder since 9/11 and things will only get worse. We're all to blame for everything except our politicians who really make the decisions.
We're under attack from our governments.
It's happened here in the UK lots although it's not illegal yet to sell a dildo. My local council has decided to stop picking up rubbish (litter) on the streets for a week to teach people a lesson. What's the lesson? That they pay fucking tax and the council spend that money on thinking up ways to make the place look untidy?
It's the price we pay for Freedom. We've gotten madder since 9/11 and things will only get worse. We're all to blame for everything except our politicians who really make the decisions.
We're under attack from our governments.
09-08-06, 06:43 PM
#23
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Originally Posted by Michael Ballack
Why should dildos be illegal? 
09-08-06, 07:39 PM
#25
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I guess I will stop buying Studio Dvd's then and go for bootlegs. The pricacy ad is getting on my nerves lately and I wish we could could just go back to the really loud MGM lion roar. I could deal with that.