TV shows, movies and commercials involving drug-abuse actors and actresses are likely to be banned from airing in Shanghai if they fail to kick their drug habit within three years of being brought up on drug charges, according to a Shanghai draft regulation on anti-drugs.
The provision was revealed Wednesday during a review to the draft by members of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress.
Any organization or television company that employs or depicts stars with drug issues in their shows also stand to face fines of up to 200,000 yuan ($31,340), the document said.
The full text of the draft is available on the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress website, and is open to public until October 23.
"The Shanghai regulation is feasible compared with a previous rule at the national level, as it sets a clear time limit for banning stars with drug issues to appear in programs and films," Zhang Junhan, general manager of the Beijing Heying Times, a film production firm, told the Global Times.
The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued a notice in October last year requiring television companies and cinemas to suspend showing programs and films that depict celebrities that have been charged with drug related crimes or who have failed to rehabilitate themselves after falling prey to drug addiction, without detailing the time span for suspension.
Zhang said that the regulation is also fair to film production companies, as in previous cases companies had to cut the film and remove sections that featured the stars before it would be allowed to show on TV or in cinemas, which resulted in huge losses for them.
"Major cities like Beijing and Guangzhou should also adopt a similar regulation," Zhang said.
In response to the spate of celebrity drug scandals, which involved in Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan's son Jaycee Chan, 42 agencies signed an anti-drug commitment letter with the Beijing police in August 2014, vowing not to employ celebrities charged for drug related crimes or to use their drug cases as a stunt.