Gone with the smoke

Now we cannot see Rajni making the cigarette flip, and the next time one sees "Deep Throat" on the screen wielding a cig, identifying him will become even more difficult as the cig will be blurred. But do not be afraid, the government has not banned smoking as such. It's just that one cannot show smoking on screen. The esteemed Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss feels that youngsters are influenced to smoke when they see their role models, actors in most cases, smoking.

Our good minister, if he is so concerned about our health, doesn't go and ban smoking altogether. How can he. It can effect the economy of the country in a major way. He can never ban smoking in reality. So he goes ahead and does the next best thing. Bans it virtually, from television screens. Isn't that a great solution? Every one is happy. The tobacco industry and the government. There are only some few disgruntled actors. But who cares about these people anyway.

Wrong. Cinema is more a reflection of society than the other way round. There are some critical questions which our Minister is not prepared to answer. Is smoking more dangerous than most other violent crimes the filmmakers glorify? Wouldn't a youngster be influenced when he sees his dad smoking more than somebody on screen smoking? Then why not go ahead and prevent the dad from smoking? It is another thing that every man has the right to choose and if he chose to risk his/her life a little, the decision is his/hers. If the governments doesn't want to curb people's freedom to smoke but still don't want youngsters to take up the habit, why doesn't it ban selling cigarettes to kids? Again, this may work in a exactly opposite way, as forbidden fruits may seem sweet to kids.

But even as this ban takes place in India, cigarette companies are going ahead with their research on how to hook up more women on smoking.

Another piece of news that caught my fancy was about some new research linking trust to the hormone oxyticin. Spray someone with oxytocin and he/she will trust you with all his money and life. In oxytocin, we trust. Spray along.