On the flip side, cinema had its negative impact on society. Crime and other forms of unacceptable behaviour were picked up from the screen. Habits too. Humphrey Bogart's cigarettes created rings of magic that eventually not only felled him to cancer, but also caused pain and suffering to hundreds of thousands of his fans, who loved to ape the American actor. Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct" is said to have provoked a revolution among women, many of whom took to smoking cigarettes.
Hundreds of teenagers have got into the habit of smoking after watching their favourite cinema icons puff away. These have been studied and documented. A recent study in the U.S. revealed that films had a powerful effect on our behaviour. Artists by smoking on the screen often became an effective link between big tobacco companies and the young with impressionable minds.
