French ban 'oral sex' anti-smoking adverts posters
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A French anti-smoking campaign which showed teenagers having "oral sex" with cigarettes, and implied that smoking was a form of submission or slavery, has been abandoned.
The advisory authority on advertising standards asked for the campaign to be scrapped after complaints from family and feminist groups. Two government ministers also attacked the advertisement as misplaced and inappropriate.
The association for non-smokers' rights said it was pleased that it had generated a debate on the increasing number of French teenagers who smoke. "The campaign will be limited to those materials which have already been issued," it said.
"We would hope that those people who have been so moved by these so-called shocking images will also be shocked by the plague of precocious smoking amongst their children and their grandchildren."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments