Disney vows to stop smoking on screen

LONDON - Walt Disney has pledged to ban smoking from its Disney branded films, becoming the first Hollywood studio to self-impose a ban on the depiction of smoking.

Robert Iger, Disney chief executive, revealed the news in a letter to US congressman Edward Markey, whose committee held a recent hearing on the effects of movie images on children.

Iger further pledged to place anti-smoking public service announcements on DVDs of any future films that feature cigarette smoking.

Iger said: "A villain can be bad without smoking. Heroes can be cool without smoking."

He said the company would "also encourage theatre owners to screen anti-smoking public service announcements" before such films.

Markey described Disney's commitment as "groundbreaking" and appealed to other studios to join the anti-smoking effort.

Markey said: "I am pleased that Disney is embracing a policy that is consistent with the long-term public health of the nation. Now it's time for other media companies to similarly kick the habit and follow Disney's lead."

Disney's move might have been prompted by the US film ratings board, which recently announced that it will now take smoking into account when classifying movies.

Cruella De Vil, from the 1961 film 'One Hundred and One Dalmatians', is one of Disney's most famous villains, and holds a cigarette holder to her mouth throughout the film. Another classic Disney film featuring smoking is 'Alice in Wonderland' featuring the hookah-toking caterpillar.

Other Disney films that feature smoking include: ‘Pinocchio’; ‘Cinderella’; ‘Peter Pan’; ‘Dumbo’; ‘Aladdin’; ‘The Little Mermaid’; ‘Hercules’; and ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’.

Disney said it would also discourage smoking in films distributed by its Touchstone and Miramax arms, which include such upcoming films as the Coen Brothers 'No Country For Old Men' based on the Cormac McCarthy novel.

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