Absurdity of Smoking Laws

In case you didn't know, there has been a movement developing in Hollywood for the past several years. About two years ago, Studios feeling pressure from anti smoking groups, decided to start limiting the amount of characters who smoke in movies. Well there is a group that is calling on the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to begin instituting a mandatory R rating to any movie that contains smoking.

Is this really a problem?!?!

So basically, the act of smoking is tantamount to saying "F**K!" or seeing bodies blown apart by incoming mortar fire. A character smoking would equal two people having a sex scene. The problem I find in this thinking is that once you make smoking equivalent of these things, what's going to happen to public codes about smoking. Now you can't just go outside the restaurant or theater, but now you have to go in a little dark booth that says: "Adults only." It would be akin to going to a porn store.

Does this not sound ridiculous. Well, leave it to the zany Californians to lead the fight for a smoke free nation. They passed a law several years ago that all public buildings would be smoke free. This means Restaurants, Stores, and other things such as BARS!!! I remember one time on liberty in Sand Diego, me and a few friends from work went to downtown Coronado to a local bar. This was after I had just turned 21, so I was new to the bar scene. Earlier in the evening I had bought a delicious cigar to smoke (smoke em once every 2 years). When I got to the bar I was turned around because I had a cigar. I was flabbergasted. I thought it was and I still think it is the dumbest law.

I hate second hand smoke, but I think people should have the right to put up the laws in their own establishments. If I own a bar, and I want to allow smoking I should be able to. It is absolute bull that this is a law. And If they even so much as start imposing a mandatory R rating on movies with smoking, I will get really peeved.

I get that G rated films shouldn't have smoking. That's fine. I don't think you'll find many Pixar movies with smoking at all (if any). I can understand PG films maybe having a smoking character, but he should be reflected as a villain or some such. The only place that I would find it to be absurd is in a PG-13 film. So what would happen if Optimus Prime gets a little fire on him during a battle, and afterwards he starts smoking?

I guess our President is R-rated too.

Smoking = R-rated = Load of B.S.

Let's try and put the focus on some real issues... like blowing up Kim Jong-il.

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