Italian directors, including Paolo Sorrentino, decry possible film smoking ban

For decades, film directors from Federico Fellini to Martin Scorsese have used cigarettes to make a point - that a particular character is a lot cooler and sexier than the rest of us. But in Italy, that tradition may be about to come to a screeching halt.

Some of the country's top directors are pushing back against a proposal that would regulate smoking in films and television series', saying such a move would limit artistic freedom and their ability to depict the lives of real people.

The artists wrote an open letter to after Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin told the paper: "We will start with films and cars with minors and then we will study additional measures. It is a subject that will inspire debate."

In a carefully worded response, some of Italy's most successful filmmakers, producers and screenwriters, including the Oscar-winning director of , Paolo Sorrentino, cited the massacre as a warning against censorship.

"It's an episode that seems to be far away from this silly thing, but actually if you look closely is not really that distant," the letter said. "We have to say that we are shocked and worried that a norm could emerge that would be really ridiculous."

They said they did not take issue with a host of other potential rules that would target smoking, including the limiting of smoking in public places and in cars carrying minors. They also said they would not address the question of whether smoking in films increased the frequency of smoking in real life.