We live in what is so very often a nasty, violent world.

Apart from the considered, ruthless viciousness of thugs and gangsters towards their victims, and the random violence of muggers and burglars, there is another equally frightening element creeping in.

It is the pent-up rage, the barely suppressed anger and resentment so many people carry with them. It is here in Brighton like so many other towns. It manifests itself in road rage incidents, in casual confrontations in the street which quickly flare out of control, and of course, in pubs and clubs where alcohol converts a small flame into a raging blaze.

It is becoming commonplace for the most trivial incidents to be resolved by the use of fists, feet, or worse, knives and broken bottles. People do not seem to comprehend the long term damage they inflict so casually - or more worryingly, they are becoming immune.

Whatever the reasons for so many socially unstable personalities, there can be no question we aggravate the problem by our embrace of violence in films and TV.

There was a time when cigarette manufacturers insisted there was no link between smoking and lung cancer. Early in the BSE scare, civil servants and government ministers swore that British beef was safe to eat.

Do not, for one single second, allow yourself to be persuaded by money-grubbing producers arguing there is no scientific evidence to link increasingly sickening on-screen violence with what is happening on the streets.

Simple common sense screams the exact opposite.

Someone being tortured or beaten to a pulp on TV may or may not make a susceptible misfit rush out to try it himself. But without question, an accumulation of such scenes can deaden the humanity in us.

After enough incidents where Pierce Brosnan, Brad Pitt or Vinnie Jones get kicked in the face, beaten with an iron bar or even shot - and then appear in the next scene looking immaculate, a simple mind might wipe out certain truths. One light punch to the face leaves a nasty black eye.

A broken arm orleg incapacitates you for weeks. A bullet in the chest is likely to be fatal.

Film-maker Lord Attenborough has publicly attacked producers glamorising violence in movies. He said it makes us lose the capacity to be shocked or moved. He was particularly critical of Guy Ritchie, director of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and now 'Snatch' for succumbing to what he described as the pornography of violence.

David (now Lord) Puttnam has warned the glorification of violence is influencing the behaviour of young children.

So perhaps the message of common sense is getting through. Encouragingly, a new report by the Broadcasting Standards Commission reveals that 40% of TV viewers are so concerned about screen violence they are prepared to switch off or change channels because of such material.

A simple truth. Producers make violent films to make money. Producers make more violent films to make more money.