The Simpson's may cause children to smoke, report

One of TV's most enduring cartoons, The Simpsons, may cause children to consider smoking because of its many scenes depicting the habit, according to a new study.  The CBC reports.

Posted by Cynthia on May 31, 2009 at 08:26 PM in Television, Tobacco | Permalink

Celebrity Rehab

Celebrity Rehab is the first television series to chronicle the dramatic, unscripted real life experiences of a group of actual celebrities as they make the life-changing decision to enter themselves into a drug, alcohol and addiction treatment program with the sincere desire to achieve true rehabilitation and recovery.

Find the show's website here.

A blogger recaps each episode of the experiment here.

(Thanks to Trysh Travis for the links).

Posted by Cynthia on February 14, 2008 at 04:59 PM in Addiction, Alcohol (miscellaneous), Television | Permalink

The Wire

Trysh Travis writes:

HBO's critically-acclaimed drama The Wire (David Simon, writer/producer) is best known for its thoughtful portrayal of the political economy of narcotics trafficking and the dismal interdiction strategy known as the "war on drugs." Episode two of what will be the final season just aired on 13 January, and the last chapter in Simon's narrative is shaping up to give what should be a similarly nuanced depiction of addiction and recovery. The former is the path of Baltimore cop Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), the latter that of Bubbles (Andre Royo), a street hustler and sometime informant for McNulty's squad. Country singer Steve Earle, himself a recovering narcotics addict, appears as Waylon, Bubbles's sponsor. Earle's stripped-down cover of Tom Waits's "Down in the Hole" serves as the show's appropriate opening theme.

More information on air times, episode guide, etc., at http://www.hbo.com/thewire/.

Posted by Cynthia on January 14, 2008 at 09:12 AM in Drugs (general), Television | Permalink

Reno leaders try to tackle meth problem with TV documentary

When it comes to methamphetamine use, Nevada holds a dubious distinction.

The state leads the nation in the number of people who have used meth in their lifetime as well as in the past year and last 30 days, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Now, community leaders are trying to fight back with the help of a 30-minute documentary, "Crystal Darkness: Meth's Deadly Assault on Nevada's Youth," to be shown at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on nearly every Reno television station.

The Las Vegas Sun reports.

Posted by Cynthia on January 7, 2007 at 08:33 PM in Addiction, Methamphetamine, Television, United States | Permalink

Britain and the bottle

"No one who saw Tuesday's BBC2 documentary, Rain in my Heart, could have been left in doubt about the destructiveness of alcohol," writes a commentator from The Guardian.  "By exposing the personal stories of four alcoholics, two of whom died during filming, the programme made the point more powerfully than statistics ever could."

Find the full commentary here

Posted by Cynthia on November 27, 2006 at 11:21 AM in Alcohol (general), Alcoholism, Britain, Television | Permalink

TV ad aims to stop young drinkers

Hard-hitting TV adverts showing the dangers people face from drinking to excess are to be screened in the UK.  The BBC reports.

Posted by Cynthia on October 16, 2006 at 12:26 PM in Advertising, Alcohol (general), Britain, Television | Permalink

More prime-time shows go for a drink

Whether characters are bellying up to Joe's Emerald City Bar in Grey's Anatomy or swigging a martini at MacLaren's on How I Met Your Mother, booze is getting a bottle full of free exposure on prime-time TV this fall.

Cocktails have replaced coffee as pop culture's elixir of choice, with liquor making cameo appearances in shows including CBS' Two and a Half Men, Fox's Happy Hour and the pilot of ABC's Brothers and Sisters.

"The new programs show individuals or small groups drinking as part of the cocktail culture that had its renaissance in films like Swingers and rediscovery of Rat Pack cool," says John Rash, a senior vice president of media for ad agency Campbell Mithun, Minneapolis.

"They're saying, in effect, that a cocktail after work is still an accepted part of the socially sanctioned American experience."

But the Parents Television Council says that such fare is too prevalent during early hours when kids tune in.

USA Today reports.

Posted by Cynthia on October 11, 2006 at 12:34 PM in Advertising, Alcohol (general), Drinking Spaces, Television, United States | Permalink