Simon Clark - Taking Liberties

I was in Liverpool and Manchester yesterday making final arrangements for our party conference events.

Unfortunately I was driving on the M6 and unable to take the call asking me to be a guest on the Five Live phone-in at nine o'clock. Subject: reclassifying films that feature people smoking (see previous post). I did however hear the debate on the car radio.

It was interesting to note how much of a platform the BBC gave the story. Sky News Radio ran it but apart from some interest overseas (where it was picked it from the BBC) there was little or no interest elsewhere.

The BBC featured it on the Today programme, several local radio stations, and it also popped up on the Five Live lunchtime programme with contributions from BBC health reporter Michelle Roberts (who I had spoken to the previous day), someone from, I think, Smokefree Liverpool, and Dr Hilary Jones.

Jones is no apologist for tobacco so it was interesting to hear him question the Bristol University study, pointing out that it was a survey not scientific evidence. He seemed sceptical that reclassifying films would have any impact on youth smoking.

Nevertheless, here was a discussion about tobacco control featuring three guests, not one of whom defended smoking or opposed the campaign to denormalise tobacco.

Meanwhile the BBC News report (Smoking in films 'encourages teenagers to take it up') now has 389 comments, most of them hostile to the idea of reclassification.

PS. I wonder how BBC producers and directors would react if told that they cannot feature a character smoking in any drama that may be watched by anyone under the age of 18.