YouTube tobacco

RSW37 points to TV3 News coverage where Otago's George Thompson, moaning about that there are videos of smoking on YouTube, seems to lament that we haven't China's ability to control the web.

The internet is just so much harder than other media. It's a real wild west. There's no rules and there's no real control, except in places like China.

And he seriously says this like it's a bad thing. Hit the link above for the video; I can't see any way of embedding it.

The TV3 story has Philip Morris saying the company has asked YouTube to take down videos with their branding; presumably this is due to healthist pressure rather than copyright issues, though you can never be sure. YouTube is a pretty nice archive of the history of advertising. Hopefully that doesn't get wrecked.

First they erase the cigar from Churchill's mouth, then they take the Winstons* away from the Flintstones?


*Yes, I know that's RJ Reynolds, not Philip Morris. But it's too good an old ad to pass up.