StopSmokingForGood.com is a company that claims to promote global smoking cessation through online awareness programs and personal education. Like many other similar operations, it has proven not to be adverse to spreading hysterical misinformation and anti smoking fanaticism in efforts to peddle it's wares. According to their site over 50% of Americans start smoking because they see celebrities doing it.

Anti smoker groups have long since demanded that Hollywood remove all smoking scenes from film and TV. They mere sight of a celebrity lighting a cigarette sends them into convulsions as witnessed when Whoppi Goldberg insisted on smoking during a recent American sitcom. Enraged groups from anti smoker lobbies to self righteous moralistic organisations including 'African Americans For Positive Imagery' raged against Whoppi for having the audacity to do such a thing as to smoke a cigarette on screen.

Whoppi and Colin are in a long line of good company who have drawn the ire of the anti smoking fanatics. A blog on StopSmokingForGood.com rants and rages against smoking celebrities and movies they appear in. It criticises Sandra Bullock in 'A Time To Kill' for teaching us smoking helps us to stay cool under pressure, they slate Al Pacino for smoking in 'Devils Advocate' and claim every rogue in every movie this year will be a smoker and then rounds on Clint Eastwood for smoking in his westerns as it teaches us good guys smoke ! There is no winning with these people. No matter what circumstances somebody smokes on screen it is all bad to them. Even the aliens in 'Men In Black' do not escape their anger for smoking.

The reasons why people smoke and continue to do so are varied and complex as is the case with all lifestyle choices people make. According to the anti smoking fanatics, whereas up to 35% of less well off Americans smoke only 14% of their wealthier more educated counterparts choose to do so. Isn't this the same wealthy and educated section of American society where cocaine use is endemic ? Hardly a habit they picked up from watching Tom and Jerry, two hapless cartoon characters whom the anti smoking fanatics successfully campaigned to have cigarettes removed from and the censors scissors taken to.

Real people such as Colin Farrel and his fellow celebrities are a much harder nut for the anti smoking fanatics to crack. This does not stop them from campaigning vigorously to control what everyone should and shouldn't see on their screens and in theatres. The battle between Hollywood and various intolerant interests groups has been ongoing since images began flickering onto the silver screen at the beginning of the last century. Censorship and prohibitions are desperate acts of those who would have us all do and behave as they deem fit. By their very nature, censorship and prohibition are abominations to free democratic societies and cannot succeed. Unless that is, the very parameters and nature of what we consider to be 'Freedom' is changed itself.

People choose to smoke regardless as to whether they watch 'Little House On The Prairie' or 'Reservoir Dogs'. Pinning the blame on celebrities, introducing prohibition and censorship will only serve to make it even more attractive especially to the young. As record producers have long since known if you want a chart busting hit one of the best ways to ensure massive sales is to find some intolerant busy body to campaign to have it banned and better still a government body to follow up with an actual ban. Herein lies the reason why downward trends in cigarette consumption are reversed in areas and countries where smoking bans are introduced.

Whether Colin Farrel smokes or is seen to smoke matters little to cigarette consumption worldwide. This won't prevent the anti smoking fanatics putting him and other celebrities into their sights as they attempt to bulldoze the rest of us under their juggernaut of intolerance.