Ignore the violence, just ban the smoking

Tobacco control campaigners in China on Monday protested against smoking scenes in the movie Transformers, according to a Xinhua Newswire story, which said that the film had broken the country’s box office record.

In a letter to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the campaigners complain that Hound, a major character in Transformers: Age of Extinction, is seen with a cigar in his mouth, something that has had a bad influence on audiences, especially teenagers.

Nongovernment organizations, including Think Tank, Nature University and the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control (CATC), were among those who raised the issue.

The campaigners asked the administration to “examine and limit” the number of smoking shots in the movie, and to require all cinemas to run anti-smoking advertisements before it starts.

In 2011, the administration released a circular on smoking in movies and television plays. Since then, the CATC has made Dirty Ashtray awards to the movies and television plays featuring the most smoking.