Canadian and US health groups protest dumping of heavy smoking movies into Canadian youth market

Ontario (Canada) and New York (USA) health groups united on January 30, 2013, to protest the dumping of heavy-smoking US films into Ontario's youth market and to demand an
adult rating for future films with smoking in both the US and Canada.

        Ontario Lung Association media release: http://bit.ly/12kltbF

Ontario researchers have found that most heavy-smoking films rated "R" in the US are rated 14A or even PG when released across the border in Canada, potentially exposing Canadian adolescents to even more on-screen smoking than US kids.
 
Ontario and New York are both important producers of US-financed films. Most of the media companies that own major US film studios are based in New York City.

Besides the film industry and the Ontario rating board, today's letter from Ontario and New York health and medical groups was copied to Ontario's consumer affairs and health ministers, New York's health commissioner and attorney general, and the National Association of Attorneys General.