[Stu]

Originally posted by the_chosen_one

I agree.

Smoking is a generally pointless habit which effects others as well as smokers. I think the general appeal of smoking, to young people, (apart from peer pressure) is the image aspect of it, they may see it on TV and wish to incorporate the style of their favourite actor or celebrity personality into their own style...e.g...

....but young people don't always contemplate the long term risks of the habit or the negative effect it has on their immediate health.

I think glamorising such habits is bad and hard to avoid on general television, but the fact that Big Brother can curb the problem, like bananarama suggests, is something worth strong consideration.

Its not exactly a bad habit , thats a matter of opinion , but the media generally shapes it that way.

As for your comment that it is pointless , you could claim that driving is pointless , alas more people die in car accidents than do lung cancer brought on from smoking each year.

What about my point that parents can simply switch the TV channel over?

You must also ask yourself , are kids really that influential and stupid?