It is strange to what can bring the foolishness of anti-smoking crusaders in their attempts to impose all the rules of a healthy lifestyle, even if they lead to a violation of all norms, artistic freedom and civil society.

Smoking ban for women under 40 years old in Russia.

According to "Rossiyskaya Gazeta", this week were examined two bills at once, relating with tobacco products. One of them is related with cigarette customer's age - women up to forty years old may be forbidden selling tobacco products. The second bill is related with smoking women too - MPs propose to ban the sale of cigarettes to mothers in the presence of their child, regardless of age.

Both bills were prepared by deputies from the Communist Party - Ivan Nikitchuk and Dmitry Kononenko. They consider that has long been proved a huge harm of smoking on female health and now it's time to deal with smoking at the legislative level. Was also reported that the main damage from smoking is the suppression of the reproductive system that causes great damage to the genetic foundation of the country.

Therefore, the MPs propose to introduce a new article that would prohibit the purchase and consumption of tobacco among women under 40 years old and women in the presence of their children. It is noted that the seller may require a woman's passport if he has any doubts about her age. It is already known the penalty for violation of this rule.

The ban of all movies where are present smoking characters.

Canadian anti-smoking crusaders may also be proud with their foolishness - "Governments want to ban smoking from films" - reported Maclean's, Canada's magazine. Public health groups say censorship will stop teens from taking up smoking, they take as a basis the data that in Canada only 15% currently smoke, of which only 11% on a permanent basis, analysts expect that later this number will decrease even more. But for "anti-smoking crusaders" it was not enough, they decided to go ahead and now pushing measures that threaten the limits of good science, artistic freedom and civil society.

Guided by the fact that adolescents are more impressionable, they want that "all movies featuring characters who smoke should be rated 18A (those under 18 need adult accompaniment)", thus they consider that young moviegoers would be shielded from the sight of such Hollywood role models as Cruella de Vil - villain with the cigarette-wielding, of the Disney movie 101 Dalmatians, and Gandalf, the pipe-puffing wizard from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies.

They really suppose that movie censorship will prevent adolescents from taking up the habit, guided with scientific research which argues that 37% of all teenaged smokers started this bad habit because they've been influenced by movies. Very interesting data, given the fact that I haven't met any teenager who would start smoking just because he saw that Gandalf smokes.

All is brought to the point of absurdity, so, the final point may be - the desire to protect "innocent" teenager's psyche not only of movies which can contain smoking characters, but of all movies which may contain violence, shooting and chase, profanity and abuse of authority (ie, all movies in the Action, Thriller genre), and with them all the drama or comedy - just because they may contain scenes with naked or half-naked bodies and kisses.

Let's just cross out with censorship all the classics and prohibit teenagers under 18 to read Shakespeare, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Vladimir Nabokov, Alexandre Dumas, Artur Konan Doyle, just because in their works can be found something that might damage "innocent" young psyche.

So, let's leave only movies with flying unicorns, butterflies and laughing sun, for teens up to 18 years old, to protect them against all harmful? - Are you serious? It is strange to what can bring the foolishness of anti-smoking crusaders in their attempts to impose all the rules of a healthy lifestyle, even if they lead to a violation of all norms, artistic freedom and civil society.

Certainly the teenager's mind is more susceptible to suggestion from the outside, but don't forget that, except in the movies, they see it around them, they can have smoking peers, friends, family and relatives, and hardly role models as Cruella de Vil or Gandalf will inspire them more than their environment.