Disney is the latest to say smoking, cinema don't mix

Walt Disney Co. is trying to kick the cinematic smoking habit.

In the most explicit announcement by a Hollywood studio, Chief Executive Robert A. Iger said Wednesday that the studio would snuff out depictions of smoking in Disney-label films.

It also would discourage lighting up in the more adult fare released by its Touchstone Pictures and its specialty label, Miramax.

"A villain can be bad without smoking," Iger said. "Heroes can be cool without smoking."

Other studios have been quietly wrestling with the same issue of how to deal with a serious health concern while giving directors creative freedom. Universal Pictures has had a policy in place since April aimed at reducing or altogether eliminating smoking depictions in films rated for youths.

Disney's announcement won praise from Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and from advocacy groups, such as the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Hollywood Unfiltered campaign, which has been encouraging writers and directors to consider the effect on-screen smoking has on young people and urging them not to glamorize it.

"It's an historic breakthrough," said Markey, chairman of the House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet, who recently held hearings on how cinematic images of smoking can affect young children.

For Disney and Iger, the decision is virtually no-lose. By making a major public announcement, Disney moves in front of the issue and further burnishes its family-friendly image. What's more, the ban extends to Disney's family films, which rarely feature smoking anyway.

Disney archivist Dave Smith recalls only a handful of such depictions, including "101 Dalmatians" villain Cruella De Vil and her trademark cigarette holder or the hookah-toking caterpillar in "Alice in Wonderland."

"With smoking, you're thinking adult-themed movies," said Smith. "Most of our films were not adult-themed movies."

Discouraging smoking scenes from Miramax's independent films might not be so easy since it values giving filmmakers wide-ranging freedom.

"We haven't exerted any control over what they make," Iger said. "There's going to be a serious attempt here to eliminate it, but we know it's harder to achieve."

A spokesman for the Directors Guild of America said that although the group discourages gratuitous depictions of smoking, the decision should be up to the filmmaker.