In New York City, no smoking means no smoking — even if you’re a celebrity attendee of the Met Gala.
The city’s health commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett fired off a peeved letter to big wigs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art reminding them of the city’s ban on smoking, after pictures of celebrities lighting up in the museum’s bathroom swirled like smoke on social media.
“This spectacular event awes us all,” Dr. Bassett wrote of the high-fashion party. “We were dismayed to read reports that some celebrities chose smoking as their fashion accessory and flagrantly violated New York City’s smoking laws.”
Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson, Rami Malek, Marc Jacobs, Courtney Love and Frances Bean Cobain were among those puffing at the party.
Bella Hadid, Rami Malek broke law by smoking in Met Gala bathroom
In her letter, the top doc offered a history lesson on the passage of Smoke Free Air Act’s passage in 2003 and noted that about 12,000 New Yorkers die a year from tobacco-related illnesses.
“There is also no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke,” she wrote. “All visitors to public places deserve protection from secondhand smoke, including people who are visiting places like The Met.”
Not only was the gala exposing people to smoke, it was exposing kids to images of their celebrity and fashion icons smoking, Dr. Bassett noted.
Marc Jacobs posted a photo with Courtney Love and her daughter Frances Bean Cobain smoking inside the bathroom at the Met Gala 2017.
(Marc Jacobs via Instagram)
“We thus are concerned about how images of these celebrities smoking — which were widely shared around the world via social media — will affect youth smoking rates. When young people see glamorous stars smoking and flouting the law, it undermines the progress that has been made in de-normalizing smoking and increasing awareness of smoking’s health risks,” she wrote.
Russian artist busted in nude Met Gala stunt
If the Met’s having trouble keeping up with the law — which it’s required to follow during business hours and special events, she noted — the health department would be happy to attend the hot-ticket event next year to keep an eye on things.
“For next year’s event, DOHMH is able to send inspectors or provide other assistance to improve compliance, should The Met desire this support,” she wrote.
City Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett even offered to “send inspectors or provide other assistance to improve compliance” at next year’s Met Gala.
(Marcus Santos)
No word on which designers the inspectors might wear to the gala.
Dr. Bassett, a former smoker herself, has personally championed efforts to get people to quit, even filming an ad about her own experience.
The Met said it hadn’t received the letter yet and couldn’t comment on it.
Tags: daily news exclusives bella hadid rami malek dakota johnson marc jacobs courtney love frances bean cobain met gala Send a Letter to the Editor Join the Conversation: facebook Tweet
Article source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/city-health-commissioner-weighs-celebrity-met-gala-smokers-article-1.3157842