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New Zealand activists call for adult ratings on films with smoking

Respiratory Care Weekly, March 1, 2006

ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) New Zealand, an organization working to eliminate smoking across the country, is pushing for all movies that contain smoking to use adults-only ratings, or "R18," in that country.

After watching movies geared toward children from the major studios, ASH New Zealand Director Becky Freeman said that DreamWorks appears to be the worst offender. The studio features smoking in two-thirds of the movies children can watch unaccompanied by an adult, she said in the New Zealand Post this week.

"What really makes me angry is when you see children's cartoons with smoking in them, like 'Shark Tale,'" Freeman said in the New Zealand Post. "Another one was 'In Her Shoes,' with Cameron Diaz, who is popular with young girls. When she gets stressed or excited she lights up a cigarette. The message that sends is really infuriating: If you are beautiful and a celebrity when you have a problem you deal with it by smoking."

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