newsmakers

August 20, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

newsmakers

Study: Smoking scenes on the decline

NEW YORK

A new study shows that there’s less smoking depicted in movies in recent years. Tobacco use on the silver screen peaked in 2005 and has been on the decline ever since. Movies released last year showed about half the number of smoking incidents of films four years earlier. The study released Thursday looked at tobacco use in popular films from 1991 to 2009.

The report is in a publication from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Armstrong, Wonder join anti-cancer event

LOS ANGELES

Lance Armstrong, Robin Roberts and Michael C. Hall are among the celebrities affected by cancer who will take part in a TV fundraiser next month. “Stand Up to Cancer” announced Thursday appearances by other actors, athletes and musicians who have faced the disease, including Maura Tierney, Christina Applegate and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Elizabeth Edwards, who kicked off the first “Stand Up to Cancer” telethon in 2008 with Armstrong, is taking part again.

One of the night’s musical performances will be led by Stevie Wonder and include Natasha Bedingfield, Queen Latifah, Martina McBride, Aaron Neville and Dave Stewart.

The show will air commercial-free Sept. 10 (8-9 p.m.) on the four major networks, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, as well as on a number of cable channels. News anchors Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Brian Williams are the hosts.

Vindicator wire services