No Butts About It,
Hollywood’s Smoking Agenda Stinksby Linda Eagle
No Butts About It,
Hollywood’s Smoking Agenda Stinks
by Linda Eagle
I don’t know about you, but I don’t get this type of mental picture when I read my Bible. Maybe it’s a new Hollywood translation? Will there be cigarette advertising in heaven?
Scenes revolving around cigarette brands have become routine when we shell out our money to go to a movie. For years, tobacco companies have hired aggressive product placement firms to represent “their” interests in Hollywood. For example:
Phillip Morris products have been placed in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (PG) and even The Muppet Movie. (G)
In Superman II, Lois Lane, a non-smoker in the comics, chain-smoked Marlboros and the Marlboro brand name appeared some 40 times.
As of last year, more than 85% of films contained tobacco use (almost half of these were suitable for adolescents and 20% were rated for children)!
How much do these tobacco companies pay to get free rent in our heads?
Brown & Williamson paid $100,000 - $250,000 per film when, “a star actually smokes our brand and where our presence in the movie is more apparent.”
Phillip Morris paid $350,000 for use of Larks in James Bond’s License to Kill.
Tobacco’s voluntary pledge to stop paid product placement in movies.
So what’s up with the increase in on-screen smoking? Further, why is smoking in movies even more prevalent after the tobacco industry voluntarily pledged in 1989 to end paid placement of tobacco products? Documents uncovered after this ban state:
There were “no new instructions” or “decisions to discontinue their efforts in the film community,” and that everything was “business as usual.”
“The presence of cigarettes and smoking situations are considered a vital part of our program. Subliminal reminders are still used.”
Tobacco in Movies Still Going Strong
The many cigarette appearances indicate that the industry is still taking good care of people who are influential getting their products onto the screen. Tobacco documents admit their desire to “feed off and exploit the image source,” (actors, etc.) and they have heavily targeted hundreds of industry leaders and stars in Hollywood to keep them hooked on tobacco.
According to industry documents, their “subliminal product campaign” includes these beliefs and facts:
“Film is better than any commercial because the audience is totally unaware of any sponsor involvement.” “…sponsorship provides an opportunity to deliver subtle but powerful product messages to a young group, still in the stages of forming purchasing habits.”
Special mailings to actresses resulted in some actresses responding that they “enjoyed the product and look forward to receiving more (cigarettes) on a regular basis.”
But not all of Hollywood’s key people are falling for these intense efforts. Rob Reiner, a strong anti-smoking activist, expressed dismay when his production company, Castle Rock, featured Meg Ryan smoking in their film, “Proof of Life.”
In fact, Reiner’s later work, “The Majestic,” though representing the early ‘50s (when smoking was more prevalent), only featured trace amounts of tobacco (pipe) - thus showing how adept producers do not need to hide behind the argument that they need it to be more accurate.”
Media Literacy
The tobacco industry refers to youth as “fundamental to the survival of their industry.” An industry that needs young new smokers to replace those who die has to be crafty. But a media literate consumer cannot be easily fooled.
Be aware of scenes involving cigarettes and talk to your kids about why those scenes were included. Was it important to the story – is there, perhaps, another reason?
Talk about movies vs. reality. Do the people you see smoking in real life appear exciting, healthy, sexy, wealthy, and fun (as do those in movies)?
Increasing your kids’ awareness of tobacco use will reduce the impact of smoking on their attitudes and behavior.
Tobacco companies deny they are doing anything wrong. But the extensive use of tobacco in movies suggests more may be involved than plain coincidence!
The Justice Department is currently investigating this matter and may implement further restrictions on the marketing and sale of tobacco products. Trial is set to begin in June, 2003.
Tobacco: A Gateway Drug
The White House reports that top brand tobacco advertising now reaches 70% of all teens. And these teens are outnumbering adult smokers. Approximately 36% of high school students are current cigarette smokers - compared to 24% among adults.
These smokers are much more likely to become regular drug users. The U.S. Surgeon General has reported teens who smoke tobacco are 100 times more likely to go on to use marijuana and 30 times more likely to then use cocaine.
Young people vastly underestimate the addictiveness of nicotine. Of daily smokers who think that they will not smoke in five years, nearly 75% still smoke. 70% of young smokers wish they had never started smoking.
Draw attention to how smoking is often made to look normal or cool in the movies, and you will protect your children from becoming victims of tobacco’s barrage of advertising efforts.
Parental Movie Restrictions are Very Important
According to a recent medical study, “of those children with no parental restrictions on their seeing R-rated movies, 46% drank alcohol and 35% smoked.
In families where R-rated movie watching was completely banned, only 4% of children drank alcohol and 2% smoked.
GENERAL WARNING: Of those children with no parental restrictions on their seeing R-rated movies, 46 percent drank alcohol and 35 percent smoked.
Visit our reviews to learn more about content in current movies and videos. The quantity of references to sex, language, drug use, violence, etc. is measured on a scale of 0-5 (with anything over 2 being unacceptable by Dove standards.