Seeing smoking in movies causes kids to smoke. Since 2001 the Smokefree Movies campaign (now Smokefree Media) has urged an R rating for movies that include smoking or other tobacco use. The logic for this recommendation, which was based on advice we got from people inside the Hollywood community, was to create an economic incentiveContinue reading “Fight over rating for horror movie adds to case for R rating movies with smoking”
Category Archives: movies
Health groups call on Netflix to honor its promise to get smoking out of its kid programming
Sixteen health organizations and four individuals wrote Netflix on June 6, reminding them that last year Netflix pledged to get rid of smoking in their programming that appeals to youth. Netflix never published a formal policy and, judging from the smoke-filled new season on Stranger Things, doesn’t care how many kids it delivers to BigContinue reading “Health groups call on Netflix to honor its promise to get smoking out of its kid programming”
Will the HBOmax Batman spinoff also be smokefree?
As reported earlier, AT&T’s Warner Bros. would not allow Colin Farrell to have The Penguin/Oz Cobblepot smoke in new film, The Batman because of Warner’s policy to keep tobacco use out of films for youth audiences. This decision is important not only to reduce youth exposure to onscreen smoking in theaters, but also in streamingContinue reading “Will the HBOmax Batman spinoff also be smokefree?”
AT&T makes Colin Farrell’s Penguin in The Batman smokefree
GeekTyrant reported that Colin Farrell’s Penguin in the new The Batman film being released by AT&T‘s Warner Bros. will be smokefree. Farrell’ wanted Penguin to smoke, but AT&T said “no.” Farrell’s view: “Big studios make big decisions around such things as the presence of cigarettes in films. I fought valiantly for a cigar. At oneContinue reading “AT&T makes Colin Farrell’s Penguin in The Batman smokefree”
Success in India: movie rules followed by less on-screen smoking
In 2012, after a 7-year battle starting in 2005, India implemented rules to reduce the pro-tobacco impact of onscreen smoking in movies and on TV. The new rules required that any film or TV program that included tobacco use include Anti-tobacco ads before and at the intermission An onscreen anti-tobacco message during any tobacco useContinue reading “Success in India: movie rules followed by less on-screen smoking”
Tobacco free “In the Heights” an audience, critical success
Two years ago Cinema Blend reported that Lin-Manuel Miranda wanted to include a hookah in his new film In the Heights, but didn’t do it out of concern that doing so could trigger an R rating and reduce the audience (and money the film would make): Lin-Manuel Miranda is currently in the process of makingContinue reading “Tobacco free “In the Heights” an audience, critical success”
Amazon’s purchase of MGM is a good time to catch up with the major studios’ tobacco policies
Amazon is buying MGM for $8.45 billion to get its inventory of popular films and TV shows. It also plans to have MGM continue to produce new films aimed at a broad audience. In contrast to MGM (and Amazon), all the major studios that produce feature films have adopted policies to reduce or eliminate smokingContinue reading “Amazon’s purchase of MGM is a good time to catch up with the major studios’ tobacco policies”
Disney’s Cruella is smokefree
Cruella is the origin story of the villain in Disney’s 1961 animated classic One Hundred One Dalmatians. In it Cruella famously smokes using a long cigarette holder. (So does Glen Close in the 1996 and 2000 live action versions and the TV series.) But, consistent with Disney’s policy to “actively limit the depiction of smokingContinue reading “Disney’s Cruella is smokefree”
Smokefree Movies is now Smokefree Media
Recognizing the growing importance of streaming and other video platforms, the Smokefree Movies campaign I started in 2001 has been expanded to Smokefree Media, including a new website. The new site contains all the information from the old Smokefree Movies site, but the searchable film database has been expanded to add streaming video programs popularContinue reading “Smokefree Movies is now Smokefree Media”
Exposure to e-cigs in music videos associated with more e-cig use in real life
It has been well-established for over a decade that exposure to onscreen smoking in movies causes kids to smoke. Now, Anuja Majumundar and colleagues at USC have used similar methods as in the early movie studies to show that the more e-cig promotions young adults (age 18-24) see in music videos the more likely theyContinue reading “Exposure to e-cigs in music videos associated with more e-cig use in real life”
Stanton Glantz blog 