A complaint has been made to RTE regarding hit tv show Striking Out.
The legal drama, starring Amy Huberman, airs at 9:35pm on Sunday nights, and has been a huge hit with viewers.
However, a letter of complaint has been sent to the National Broadcaster about the programme by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Ireland, an anti-smoking group concerned about the cigarette smoking seen on the show.
Chairman of ASH, Patrick Doorley has said that he thinks that the exposure of children to smoking increases the chance of them taking it up.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, he said that it showed smoking as “normal, grown-up behaviour.”
According to the Irish Independent, the letter sent to RTE read:
“A number of people have raised the issue of the amount of smoking witnessed by your viewers of the second episode of ‘Striking Out’ on Sunday 14th January last.
“Witnessing smoking on such a programme normalises smoking for viewers, especially young people. This runs contrary to all that is being achieved by our health services, advocates and citizens by reducing smoking to some 18% of the population in the past fourteen years.
“I would be keen to know what is the RTÉ policy in regard to smoking on various programmes, especially those created and commissioned by RTÉ and funded in many instance by the taxpayer. I expect that you would have a bar in place on programme makers taking funding from the tobacco industry under any guise whatever. We will be writing similarly to the BAI.”
The episode in question shows stars Maria Doyle Kennedy and Neil Morrissey smoking in an office.
Do you think the complaint was warranted?
