Censorship? Lawsuit calls for R rating for movies with smoking

A lawsuit filed in February against the movie industry claims that if there are no restrictions on the display of smoking in films, over 32 million American children will take up smoking and a million die early from lung cancer, heart disease and emphysema. Those behind the lawsuit want an R rating for any film with cigarette smoking. Hollywood sees the lawsuit as an attack on their First Amendment rights since the ratings are opinions protected under the Constitution. “…the Hollywood defendants warn the judge that, soon, they might be forced to give R ratings to all films “that depict alcohol use, gambling, contact sports, bullying, consumption of soda or fatty foods, or high-speed driving,” writes Eriq Gardner in The Hollywood Reporter, April 29, 2016.

The U.S. Surgeon General found in 2012 that “exposure to onscreen smoking in movies causes young people to start smoking.”  And even though film companies have policies restricting the depiction of smoking, they have not been effective in reducing the incidents. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 6, 2016)

The World Health Organization also wants to add smoking to the confines of the R rating. They claim that  research shows that the R rating would significantly cut the numbers of youth adopting the smoking habit. (takepart, February 2, 2016, by Liz Dwyer)