The Ministry of health banned Smoking in the movies
In the modified embodiment, the anti-Smoking concept the Ministry of health proposes to abandon support for the domestic film with Smoking heroes.
The Ministry of health proposes to ban state support from the budget of films in which characters are shown Smoking or tobacco products, as well as to limit audiovisual works display of brands of cigarettes. This idea appeared in a modified version of the anti-Smoking concept that the Ministry of health has sent to the Federal bodies of Executive power. In the new version of the document, the Agency also refused to increase the working day for smokers and tightened the requirements for standardised cigarette packs.
The Ministry of health finalized and provided to the Federal bodies of Executive power “Concept of state policy on combating tobacco consumption for the years 2017-2022 and beyond”. The Deputy head of the Ministry of healthcare Dmitry Kostennikov has sent the draft to the agencies on may 26, the documents of the Ministry (“News”).
In the elaborated version taking into account comments from other departments the Ministry of health put forward new proposals. These include the introduction of restrictions on the display of trademarks that serve to individualization of tobacco products, i.e. product placement of cigarettes. MoH also proposed to prohibit state support of feature films that show tobacco products and the process of tobacco consumption. Since 2013, the advertising of tobacco products in Russia is already forbidden by the law “On advertising”, but not banned the promotion of cigarettes in movies.
— To neutralize the demonstration of Smoking, the cigarettes in movies is quite real, nothing bad will happen. Cigarette is a drug, and the state should be consistent and not support films with the promotion of tobacco products, — said a member of the coordination Council on tobacco control at the Ministry of health Alexey Shabashov. — If the hero smokes on screen, the audience, especially children and teenagers, copy it.
The General Director of “Mosfilm” Karen Shakhnazarov on this occasion noted that nowhere in the world do not struggle with Smoking with a ban on it in films.
It is naive to imagine that these events are connected, — said Karen Shakhnazarov. — The movie should reflect some part of life, but in real life people smoke.
In the Guild of film Directors added that often the heroes Smoking — a creative technique showing the audience that, for example, a character is nervous. Do not understand how it can be avoided in the tapes.
Plus, the Ministry of health in the new version of the concept indicated that standardised cigarette packs must be installed requirements for length, height, width, and color of the consumer packaging of tobacco products, and to information placed on the packaging. Previously, the Agency insisted only on a standardised pack without a trademark.
— Unified bundle is one of the key standards the first version of the concept, which has been preserved in the second edition. Experts she was accepted and successfully practiced in other countries. Although the tobacco companies did not. Trademarks on the packaging — one of the hallmarks for the consumer, which is also a way to compete — wrote CEO “Philip Morris Seylz end Marketing” Sergey Slipchenko in a letter to the Federal Antimonopoly service (the FAS is also involved in the discussion of the concept).
Also in the new edition of the concept of the Ministry of health refused the offer to increase the working day for smokers. Earlier this idea was criticized labor Minister Maxim Topilin.
As previously wrote “Izvestia”, from the new version of the concept possible the proposal of a ban on selling cigarettes to those born after 2015. Also, the document is no more specific excise duties in the coming years and the amount of tax on the retail sale of conventional and electronic cigarettes.
Economic development forms its position regarding the new version of the concept, the Ministry said. The Ministry of health, Ministry of culture, the Ministry of industry and trade, the Ministry of justice, Ministry of agriculture and the Federal Antimonopoly service and the Federal service comments are not provided.