Hollywood Still Glorifying Tobacco Use
According to a recent study published in the British journal, The Lancet, smoking is still depicted in feature films even though tobacco companies agreed to stop paying to place their products in movies a decade ago.1
The study, conducted at Dartmouth Medical School, looked at 250 of the top U.S. feature films from 1988 to 1997. The researchers found that more than 85 percent (217) of the films depicted tobacco use, and specific brands appeared in 28 percent (180) of the movies.2 This finding is surprising considering in 1989 the tobacco industry agreed to stop promoting their brands on-screen after Congress questioned whether the practice violated advertising regulations.3 Madeline Dalton, co-author of the study and a professor of nutrition and public health at Dartmouth Medical School, said "I think we show that the ban had no impact on what is essentially cigarette advertising in the movies."4
The study offers no evidence as to whether or not the tobacco industry still pays filmmakers to place their tobacco products in movies, but according to Dalton, that doesn’t matter because "the result is the same. U.S. cigarettes are being marketed to a global audience through cinema."5 Even if Big Tobacco and Hollywood did not shake hands and exchange money for product placement in films, the two industries are still walking hand and hand because they are both promoting and glamorizing tobacco use. When the audience (particularly when the audience is children) constantly see characters who use smoking as a way to look cool, sexy, or rebellious, they will begin to view smoking as a glamorous and socially acceptable activity.6 "[I]t’s an easy way for a director or actor to make a quick statement about a character. The smoking stereotype can be shorthand for a sexy woman, a rebellious woman, or a tough guy. But filmmakers are just perpetuating that stereotype and need to know that kids are watching and modeling their behavior,"7 Dalton said.
By having Julia Roberts puff away on Marlboro cigarettes throughout the 1997 hit movie My Best Friend’s Wedding, the movie industry is creating an image much more powerful than any add the tobacco industry could place in a magazine. When young people, particularly young girls, see a successful, attractive, and respected actress and role model like Julie Roberts smoking, they may take up the habit to be more like her. In fact, several studies have shown that seeing a favorite film star smoking is the most effective means of persuading teenagers to smoke.8 It is also interesting to note that Marlboro, the brand Julia Roberts smokes throughout the film, is the brand of choice for most first-time smokers.9 The study found that other movies where the main audience is children, such as Ghostbusters II, Home Alone 2, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Kindergarten Cop, and the Nutty Professor, also depicted smoking and even mentioned brand names of tobacco products.10
Thus, it is clear that even without a cent from the tobacco industry, Hollywood continues to use feature films as a vehicle to promote and perpetuate the industry’s age-old message that smoking is a glamorous and accepted activity in our society.
9 Id.
Supra note 2.