Disney bans smoking

The first studio to announce such a move, Disney also plans to include anti-smoking public service announcements on DVDs of any of its films that include an actor smoking, the newspaper said.

The company will also "discourage" smoking in movies made by its Miramax and Touchstone subsidiaries, CEO Bob Iger told the Journal.

Disney's move follows recent efforts by the Motion Picture Association of America to discourage smoking in movies. In May, the MPAA suggested that smoking be included as a factor in assigning ratings to movies, in addition to criteria such as violence, sex and illicit drug use, the newspaper said.

Among other Hollywood studios, NBC Universal earlier this year said it would reduce the incidence of smoking in its movies, and Weinstein Co. has included anti-smoking announcements in major releases on DVD, the Journal said. – (HealthDayNews)

July 2007