In a groundbreaking move France has passed a bill that will criminalise the promotion in the media of anorexia and extreme thinness.
Pro-anorexia websites and other forms of publications are the target of the bill and France hopes this bill will discourage these websites and publications from encouraging girls and young women to starve themselves.
Sources say that this bill will affect websites, fashion houses, magazines and advertisers.
If France's upper house has things their way than people who are found guilty of encouraging severe weight loss could be fined up to 45,000 euros and face some prison time.
France's health minister, Roselyne Bachelot, believes that the new law will stop media advice on how to become super thin and will stop pro-anorexia sites from giving any further advice.
According to Bachelot when girls are encourage to lie to their doctors or eat foods that are easier to throw up and beat themselves up each time they eat a piece of food is not freedom of expression.
Bachelot goes on and tells sources that the messages that are on these sites and other publications are just death messages and people who are hiding behind the websites should be prosecuted.
The fashion industry could be affected by the new law especially magazine editors who publish extremely thin models in their magazine.
According to a source there are over 38,000 people who are anorexic in France and many lawmakers and parliamentarians feel that the law cannot come soon enough.
This is going to be interesting because France is huge in the fashion industry. I wonder if France is only going to target small time websites or will they go after the big magazines and other huge publications, only time will tell.
