Advertising is a pervasive influence on children and adolescents. Young people view more than 40 000 ads per year on television alone and increasingly are being exposed to advertising on the Internet, in magazines, and in schools. This exposure may contribute significantly to childhood and adolescent obesity, poor nutrition, and cigarette and alcohol use. Media education has been shown to be effective in mitigating some of the negative effects of advertising on children and adolescents.

• A British television channel has been criticised as "irresponsible' for making a drama in which US President George Bush is assassinated. Death of a President, on More4, uses actors and

On 31 May 2005 (World No Tobacco Day), the Health Minister of India informed the media that the Ministry of Health would ban depiction of any form of tobacco use in films and teleserials with effect from 1 August 2005. Predictably, this announcement triggered a storm of protests from the film industry and sections of the media. (Editorial)

Telecommunications and the television (TV) broadcasting sectors have been most instrumental in ushering in what is called the ‘Information society’ / ‘global village’. Although the telecom sector in India is slowly coming on track, with regulators taking