MOVIES - Aug. 21, 1989

Two U.S. congressmen have said a health warning on the dangers of smoking in the latest James Bond movie, “Licence to Kill” should appear at the beginning of the film, rather than during the final credits, and have said they will ask the Federal Trade Commission whether it has the authority to issue rules on tobacco advertising in movies. “Many viewers of the film will leave before they see a warning in the movie’s credits,” said Rep. Tom Luken (D-Ohio) and Bob Whittaker (R-Kan.) in a letter to Janet D. Steiger, FTC chairwoman. Philip Morris had paid $350,000 to the film maker, United Artists, to have a Lark cigarette appear in the film, according to congressional testimony. In response to concerns from the American Lung Assn., American Heart Assn. and American Cancer Society, the Surgeon General’s warning about the effect of smoking appears during the final credits.