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The French National Assembly has adopted a bill that would make it illegal to promote anorexia through Web sites, magazines and in advertisements.

"Encouraging young girls to lie to their doctors, advising them on foods that are easier to regurgitate and inciting them to beat themselves up each time they eat is not freedom of expression," Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said in a speech in parliament.

"These messages are death messages. Our country must be able to prosecute those who are hiding behind these websites," she said.

The bill must now be approved by the Senate. Under the bill violators could face jail sentences of up to two years and $47,387 in fines.

Violators could face a three-year jail term and be fined for $71,000 if encouragement of anorexia leads to death. The bill is mainly geared towards blogs and sites where anorexics share information about how to stay thin.

The vote in the lower house comes after the French fashion industry signed a voluntary charter to promote healthy body images.

In France, the health ministry estimates there are about 30,000-40,000 anorexics with two age groups-12-13 year- olds and 18-19 year-olds-said to be most vulnerable to the disease, according to deputy Valerie Boyer, the author of the bill.

"It's time for public action against this scourge," Boyer said.