Will on-screen smoking ban be stubbed out?

NEW DELHI: A straight ban on smoking in films is not possible, Information and broadcasting minister PR Dasmunshi has said. He was replying to a question here on Wednesday on whether the I&B ministry favoured a ban on smoking scenes in films. Even as the health ministry issued a notification recently banning smoking scenes in films, with a few exceptions, Dasmunshi had a different point to make.

He pointed out that I&B officials were in talks with their counterparts in the health ministry to sort this issue out. Dasmunshi was speaking at a conference of social editors.

He said film-makers and script writers must ensure, through self-regulation, that “smoking is not glamourised in films”. However, if smoking is integral to a character in a film, it must be shown, he added.

The I&B minister however maintained that he’s opposed to smoking himself, and that no-smoking and no-drinking are great health campaigns.