Things that make you say 'RRRRRRRRR'!

The American Medical Association adopted a resolution this week calling on the MPAA to slap an "R" rating on any movie that depicts "cigarette smoking and other tobacco use".  That's right -- it appears that a single cigarette is the moral equivalent of graphic violence, graphic language and nudity.

 

To no one's surprise, the resolution was proposed by the AMA delegation from The Great Nanny State of California.

 

Dr. Michael Maves, executive VP of the AMA, has previously advocated additional restrictions:

-- Certify in the end credits that no one was paid anything or received anything of value for including cigarette smoking scenes in the movie;

-- require strong, independent anti-smoking advertising before films depicting smoking by actors, and

-- do not identify any cigarette brand in a movie.

I suppose that it's admirable to seek to eliminate smoking from our culture by going after the "pushers" -- and Hollywood is certainly among them.  But the AMA is setting its sights too low.  Smoking is far from the only public health menace being promoted in the movies.  Why not demand an 'R' rating on movies depicting consumption of Coca-Cola, coffee, buttered popcorn, Chinese food, fettucine alfredo and Krispy Kreme doughnuts?

And while we're in Full Nanny Mode, let's nail movies in which major characters fail to wash their hands after using the bathroom.  What kind of example are we setting for our kids?  Oh, and movies in which a character "shoots up" must carry a disclaimer assuring our youth that only clean needles were used.

What with the moral sewage that Hollywood has been pumping out, one might be forgiven for not even noticing the cigarettes.