Smoking in Movies

The Impact of Smoking in Movies
Smoking in films is inconsistent with real life smoking rates . . .

• Although actual smoking rates are nearly half what they were 50 years ago, the number of incidents per hour of smoking in movies in 2002 exceeded the number of incidents per hour in films from 1950.
• Although adult smoking rates have been steady or declining since the 80’s, smoking in movies is more than twice as common now as it was during its all-time low between 1980 and 1982.
• Research shows that adolescents are aware of the high prevalence of smoking in films; and that this perception of high smoking rates on screen leads to exaggerated ideas of the numbers of peers and adults that smoke.

. . . And this is no Accident.

• In the 1980’s the 4 Major US tobacco Companies (Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, and American Tobacco Company) hired aggressive product placement teams to put tobacco products and signs in positive situations in films, and to prevent brands from being used in negative situations.
• RJ Reynolds had a program to provide free cigarettes to actors on a monthly basis.
• Of the top 25 films each year between 1988 and 1997, more than 85% include tobacco use.
• Tobacco brand product placement was found in 35% of those films rated for adults, 32% of films rated for adolescents, and 20% of films rated for children.
• Although the tobacco industry adopted a voluntary ban on paid product placement in films in 1991, brand visibility did not decrease, and “actor endorsements” of tobacco brands in films increased from 1% to 11%.

Smoking in movies has a huge impact on youth smoking.

• After controlling for other factors, 52.2% of youth smoking initiation can be attributed to exposure to smoking in films.
• Youth with very high exposure to smoking in movies are 2.71 times more likely to smoke than those with the lowest exposure.
• Teens that are smokers are more likely than non-smokers to have favorite stars that smoke on and off screen. Non-smokers that had favorite stars that smoke in films and in public are more susceptible to smoking than other non-smokers.

Tobacco Industry Quotes:

• Our primary objective will remain the same, to have smoking featured in a prominent way, especially when it is tied favorably with celebrities.” Letter written to President of RJ Reynolds Tobacco from its PR firm in 1981
• “Many times we can get a display, a sign, a shirt, a logo, etc inserted into a positive scene, even when the product may not be used in the movie. This gives us a real life environment into which your name is used.” John McGinn, Advertising Director for American Tobacco Company