'SMOKE-FREE TAIWAN' TO TAKE EFFECT ON MOVIE

LIGHTING UP TO BE OUT FROM MOVIES IN TAIWAN
TOBACCO TO BE INCLUDED IN FILM RATING SCHEME

TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan is planning to change its movie rating system to take account of characters who smoke, the government said Saturday, as part of a bid to reduce the number of youngsters taking up the habit. The Department of Health wants to make tobacco use one of the criteria for deciding what age rating to give a film, a move that could mean some animated movies are out of bounds for children. “Smoking (in movies) has a much worse impact on health than sex and violence,” the department said in a statement posted on its website. It cited a popular Japanese cartoon series, “One Piece”, where the main characters smoke frequently, providing “a bad example for children”. Taiwan has looked to tighten anti-smoking rules in recent years. The island banned smoking in all indoor public places in early 2009. It has also outlawed all cigarette advertisement and imposed a “health tax” on cigarettes, a move the health department credits with helping to cut smoking by 10 percent. Lung cancer has long been a leading cause of death in Taiwan, which has about five million smokers out of a total population of 23 million, according to government figures.

With the new Tobacco Hazard Prevention and Control Act which took effect on Jan 11 2009, smoking in Taipei is now banned at bus stops, train station platforms, pubs and restaurants, while at Taipei Zoo it'll be no puffing when visiting the pandas because at some outdoor areas, such as children’s playgrounds, amusement parks and zoos will also be illegal to smoke. The new act also stipulates that owners of establishments that sell cigarettes, including convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and betel nut stands, may not actively market or display tobacco-related ads.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Does a person die without smoking? No. It is an anartha. One becomes habituated to smoking due to bad association: sangat sanjayate kamah. Because of bad association one learns how to smoke, how to gamble, how to eat meat, and how to take intoxicants. In America the government is spending millions of dollars to stop this intoxication habit among the young people. But the government does not know how to stop it. Here is the remedy: Krsna consciousness. It is practical. Anyone who seriously takes up the process of Krsna consciousness can immediately give up all bad habits, including intoxication.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“Dharma: The Way of Transcendence”
Chapter 13: “Escaping the Clutches of Harmful Desires”