China's broadcasting watchdog has decided to intensify the
supervision on smoking scenes in movies and TV series.
In a recent statement released by the State Administration of
Radio Film and Television (SARFT), censoring institutions and TV
drama and film producers were asked to try their best to avoid
"unnecessary and long-time smoking scenes."
The administration said that its obligation and responsibility
lie in the efforts to realize "no smoking in films and TV series",
The Beijing News reported on Friday.
The statement was a response to public outcry against the "too
smoky" TV series "New Shanghai Bund" aired nationwide earlier this
year.
Members of the Beijing-based non-profit organization, Think Tank
Research Center for Health Development, submitted a formal
complaint to the SARFT in July this year, criticizing the TV series
for showing too many scenes of smoking.
The 42-episode drama, New Shanghai Bund, is the latest
remake of a 1980 classic which turned Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat
into a star. It revolves around a group of gangland mobsters in
1930s Shanghai.
Think Tank found that 36 percent of Chinese TV dramas made in
the past two years showed actors smoking in an average of 30
scenes, with one appearing at an average interval of 12
minutes.
Rampant smoking scenes in TV series "reflect the producer's weak
awareness of smoking control," said the statement.
The SARFT, however, admitted that as there is no effective laws
and regulations on smoking control in China, a ban on smoking
scenes lacks on legal basis.
(Xinhua News Agency October 5, 2007)