Mickey Quits Smoking?

New developments on two previous blog issues: smoking and colleges getting kickbacks from the student loan industry.
The news took place at Walt Disney Co. and Rutgers University, sorry to say.
Authorities say the Rutgers Athletic Department promoted a firm called University Financial Services in return for kickbacks.
According to the authorities:
The promotion consisted of free ads on the department’s web site.
The payment was to be $15,000 plus $75 for every loan.
Rutgers is the only New Jersey college involved in the nationwide probe — so far.
The ongoing smoking question generated a couple pretty radical responses to the smoke-free policy Cape Regional Medical Center announced for anywhere on its grounds in June.
After that, we reported a story that the Motion Picture Association was considering making smoking a factor in rating films. That drove some right-to-smoke people ballistic.
But now Disney has announced it will:
• Eliminate smoking from all films released under its label.
• Discourage smoking in films under its Touchstone and Miramax brands.
• Insert a public service announcement on any DVD of a family film that includes smoking.
To get on the bandwagon, Universal Pictures said it has started a policy to reduce smoking in youth-oriented films.
So there you go. Respond, but remember, this isn’t Spout Off.