Verisimilitude, My Ass


Current mood: not buying it

Category: News and Politics


From Yahoo! News:

Actors could escape England's smoking ban

Wed Apr 26, 11:57 AM ET

Actors could escape the smoking ban due to come into force in England next year if lighting up is crucial to their performance, the Department of Health revealed.

Theatres, film and television crews could be exempted from the ban on smoking in enclosed public places because of worries about actors' ability to portray smokers.

"The government is considering providing a specific exemption from smoke-free legislation to ensure that smoking can take place on stage during live theatrical performances, or during film and television recording, where smoking is integral to the plot or storyline," a Department of Health spokesman said.

"We will be consulting with the theatre industry on what they consider integral to the plot."
Theatre companies have voiced fears that historical well-known smokers, such as Britain's cigar-loving World War II leader Winston Churchill, would be tough to portray if actors were not allowed to light up on stage.
Public health minister Caroline Flint is writing to industry leaders about the ban with a view to exempting actors.

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This is bullshit. When Hamlet is produced, we do not expect to see actual murders on stage. Actors do not shoot up with real heroin when they portray junkies. Why should tobacco be the exception? Let them smoke those vile lettuce cigarettes and cardboard cigars.