https://youtube.com/watch?v=rcJH8tZfHKg
Four Democratic senators sent a letter slamming NBCUniversal and the Foreign Press Association for its “repeated shots of celebrities smoking e-cigarettes” at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards show. Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and Ed Markey of Massachusetts wrote to “express concern regarding the prominent display of electronic cigarettes” at the event and request that those images not be broadcast in the future.
Over the course of the evening, including in the opening monologue (shown above), a handful of stars were seen using e-cigarettes onscreen.
Smoking electronic cigarettes is meant to simulate the use of tobacco cigarettes, and they are considered a healthier and safer alternative, but the senators assert that showing celebrities smoking could influence youths to take up either habit. By refraining from showing e-cigarettes, they argue that “such action would help to avoid the glamorization of smoking and protect the health of young fans.”
Roll Call has the senators’ full letter.