Television and the new anti-smoking law..No More "I Love Lucy"?

[bk77]

Even though I haven't had any videos on that site for awhile, I did get an email from You Tube this morning with a warning that due to President Obama signing into law that new anti-smoking bill, any clips that are uploaded on You Tube that feature anyone in the act of smoking cigarettes and or cigars will be deleted at once, including movie/TV clips and vintage old cigarette commercials.

Last Friday my dad was watching the news from Pittsburgh's WTAE-TV and from what he told me that anti-smoking ban ( at least according to WTAE ), will affect TV and movies as well such as scenes of people smoking will no longer be allowed. Now if this is true is there a "grandfather" clause where older movies & TV shows could still feature smoking or will this new law put an end to the showing of such classics as I Love Lucy or those old Bette Davis movies unless of course the smoking scenes get edited out?

I would imagine that the current popular TV shows like The Simpsons, who had characters who did smoke..no longer will light up.

 

[azumanga]

While I am well-aware of the new law, I didn't even know it would include a total ban on cigarettes in the media. I know that flavors (other than menthol) will be banned, ingredients will be revealed, warning labels will be bolder, cigarette ads will be less sexier, and a bye-bye to "lights" (and similar wording) -- but not a ban of cigarettes from the media.

At least there's still DVDs (unless ciggies are banned there, too).

More here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Smoking_Prevention_and_Tobacco_Control_Act
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31305225/ns/politics-capitol_hill/
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/11/senate-passes-landmark-tobacco-bill/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090611/ap_on_go_co/us_fda_tobacco
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/c...o_Grant_FDA_Control_of_Tobacco_Regulation.asp

The law also mentions new restrictions on billboards, mandating that only black and white lettering can be used -- I thought those were banned about 15 years ago? (Been about that long since I last saw a ciggie billboard.)

 

[Bongwater]

So we keep kids from smoking by rewriting history right?

Enjoy this while you can.....:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZvHiiWFbBU

 

[AVNevis]

bk,

It would seem to me that the e-mail you recieved from YouTube is highly suspect. It could have been sent out by an someone opposing the legislation as a scare tactic. Any legislation passed by congress that would ban internet videos of any type would certainly have recieved massive media attention and almost certainly would be unconstitutional. Now, it could be that YouTube is voluntarily deleting those videos (also I would think even that would get a lot of attention) but that would be their choice, not because of the legislation.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Yeah, it sounds like a hoax to me.

 

[mleach]

While I am well-aware of the new law, I didn't even know it would include a total ban on cigarettes in the media. I know that flavors (other than menthol) will be banned, ingredients will be revealed, warning labels will be bolder, cigarette ads will be less sexier, and a bye-bye to "lights" (and similar wording) -- but not a ban of cigarettes from the media.

At least there's still DVDs (unless ciggies are banned there, too).

More here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Smoking_Prevention_and_Tobacco_Control_Act
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31305225/ns/politics-capitol_hill/
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/11/senate-passes-landmark-tobacco-bill/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090611/ap_on_go_co/us_fda_tobacco
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/c...o_Grant_FDA_Control_of_Tobacco_Regulation.asp

The law also mentions new restrictions on billboards, mandating that only black and white lettering can be used -- I thought those were banned about 15 years ago? (Been about that long since I last saw a ciggie billboard.)

Even though its been in the news and there are no shortage of links on the web as to where people can find out the info, despite that there are a LOT of people who simply refuse to believe that they will not be able to buy that pack of Marlboro Lights at their favorite store a year from now. My brother is like that. A smoker of Camel Lights since 1990, and he expects to buy his brand at Safeway in 2010. He refuses to be believe otherwise.

I don't see a total ban of smokes in the media, at least with TV ( it will NOT happen with movies ) but with TV I can see sometime in the future the networks and stations deciding on their OWN FREE WILL to cut down on scenes involving smoking on current and future shows, perhaps even going as far as doing away with that shot of players & coaches smoking that "victory cigar" after a sporting event. I do not see any of this involving classic TV shows, well maybe some of those music videos from the 90's that showed gansta rappers puffing on blunts or that one video I can rememeber seeing of the Backstreet Boys showing AJ smoking a Camel, there might be a small chance those might face the censors...but hardly I Love Lucy, Jack Benny, old clips of Huntley & Brinkley, George Burns or whoever. But that is not to say there may be an attempt though, like what happened with the Game Show Network some years back.

The You Tube thing sounds like crap to me..unless You Tube meant only the banning of clips of showing teens and children smoking. I can see You Tube doing away with THOSE clips to send a meesage to kids. If that was the case I doubt there would be much in the way media attention since afterall how many of us adults would care to watch a clip of some child thinking she/he is "big" by smoking a cigarette but then again, kids if they really want to smoke they will find out another way at doing so and I doubt You Tube will have much success in enforcing such a ban if they wanted too. Look at how sucessful they were in dealing with copyright material popping up on there.