Movies: Puffing Up a Storm

Smoking is on the rise in movies, sparking a campaign to stub it out. A look at who's behind it

Rob Reiner, co-founder of Castle Rock Entertainment, was appalled when he saw his studio's film Proof of Life. It wasn't that he could predict the movie's demise at the box office. "I thought, 'Wow, why is Meg Ryan smoking up a storm?'" Reiner says. "It didn't add to the plot." Fourteen months later, Castle Rock now has a policy of discouraging tobacco use. Any actor, director or screenwriter who wants to depict it must first meet with Reiner. "They have to make a really good case," he says. "Movies are basically advertising cigarettes to kids."

Movie characters light up more often...

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