SmokeScreeners Rating: 
Year of Release: 1984
MPAA rating: PG
Director: Ivan Reitman
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Reviewed by Zachary H. from Westglades Middles School on 11/1/2008
Dr. Barry Hummel posted the following additional comments:
"Ghost Busters is a classic comedy in which three down-and-out college professors develop a system for ridding the world of evil spirits. Too bad that they couldn't find a way to rid the world of secondhand smoke!
Take this scene. You will notice the no-smoking scene in the elevator. Too bad the courtesy does not extend to other areas of the hotel...
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I wonder if Dr. Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) bothered to pick up the cigarette that fell from his lips? Or did he just let it smolder on the carpet creating a fire hazard?
As the film progresses, the Ghost Busters become the talk of the town. Check out this cameo by radio and television personality Larry King, smoking in his studio during a live broadcast...
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So, the ghost-busting business continues to grow, and the time has come to hire a new employee. In this scene, Dr. Stantz and Dr. Venkman return from a job shortly after the arrival of a potential employee, Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson). Check out the great first impression that Stantz and Venkman make on Mr. Zeddmore!
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It is hard to believe there was a time where workplace smoking was universal. Over half of the states in the USA, including New York where the movie Ghost Busters takes place, now have some kind of smoke-free workplace legislation.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) now classifies secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen... the highest possible classification. So, on top of the verbal abuse that the office manager, Janine (Annie Potts), has to suffer at the hands of Dr. Venkman, she is also suffering a form of phsical abuse due to second hand smoke. In 1984, the EPA may have stopped by the check on the nuclear equipment used to contain the ghosts captured by our heroes. In 2008, they might also stop by to fine the Ghost Busters for violations of the smoke-free workplace laws on the books in New York!
Do possible safety violations and a crackdown by the EPA have our heroes worried? Not on your life!
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While we have come along way in protecting non-smokers in work environments, some of the worst secondhand smoke exposure occurs in a much tighter environment... vehicles.
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Because vehicles are smaller, non-smokers are exposed to higher concentrations of the carcinogens found in secondhand smoke. Non-smokers actually smoke the equivalent of 3 cigarettes for every hour that they spend in a car with a smoker! Some states are beginning to pass legislation regulating vehicle smoking, especially where children are involved.
By the end opf the movie, our heroes have cleaned up New York, ridding the city of all its paranormal activity. With nothing left to do, perhaps they should tackle a more relevant problem.
Smoke Busters, anyone?"