ImageMaster Information: Fatal Addiction

"Fatal Addiction"

Emmy Winning Film Warns Teens and Parents

For immediate release
July 28, 2004

Atlanta, GA- An Emmy Award winning film produced to warn teens and their parents about the destructive consequences of tobacco use will air on statewide commercial television over the next two weeks. The film, entitled "Fatal Addiction", is an emotional look at the heavy toll tobacco takes on families and individuals. Shot and produced in Georgia and Alabama, the project was a joint initiative of the Children and Youth Coordinating Council in Georgia and the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

View the Fatal Addiction Open
(for modems and broadband - requires RealPlayer)

ImageMaster Productions's President, Dan Johnson (left), on set with Governor Sonny Perdue.

View Governor Perdue's Introduction
(requires Windows Media Player)

"As adults, we have a responsibility to help our kids make wise, informed decisions. And choosing to use tobacco is not a wise choice," says Governor Sonny Perdue, during the introduction to the film. The film points out that the younger a person begins smoking, the more likely they are to become a life-long smoker. Each year in Georgia, more than 30,000 kids begin smoking and statistics indicate that one third of those kids will die from tobacco related illness.

"The high level of recognition this film has received indicates that it is an effective message that can make a difference for both parents and teenagers," Perdue maintains. "Fatal Addiction" won the 2003 Emmy Award for Documentary Program and Writer, and won nominations for Best Director and Photography. The film was produced and directed by Atlanta filmmaker Dan Johnson of ImageMaster Productions, Inc.

"The pain and suffering I witnessed during the production of this film was significant," Johnson says. "My goal is to prevent even one family from going through the loss that is documented in this program."

Dean Coward's cancer left him with a crippling 11% lung function.

14 year old Allison Briner - whose father, Dick, died of lung cancer shortly before the making of Fatal Addiction

Johnson interviewed and profiled families and individuals in Georgia and Alabama who claim their lives have been forever changed by one bad choice, the choice to smoke cigarettes. One Alpharetta teen tearfully pleads with parents not to smoke, "…because you have an obligation to take care of your kids, and you can’t do that if you die." The film goes on to demonstrate that the girl knows well the toll of tobacco. Her father died of lung cancer when she was fourteen.

Fatal Addiction will be seen throughout most of the state on Saturday night, July 31st at 7:30pm. A complete broadcast schedule is included in this release. The broadcast is being sponsored by the Georgia Cancer Coalition and the Division of Public Health Department of Human Resources. For more information viewers can visit www.FatalAddiction.tv

Tell someone about ImageMaster:
Email a link to this page.