| We observe these scenes daily: characters smoking in | | | | top movies have smoking scenes, visit |
| major motion pictures and on popular television shows, | | | | Angelina Jolie quit smoking for the safety and health of |
| and "lighting up" during on-air interviews and in tabloid | | | | her children, and convinced Brad Pitt to do the same. |
| photos. Is Tinseltown "addicted" to smoking? Does | | | | Julia Roberts also quit for the sake of her kids, as did |
| Hollywood consider tobacco use glamorous or cool? | | | | Ben Affleck when he and Jennifer Garner became |
| Are entertainment celebrities biologically prone to | | | | parents. But those celebs are in the minority. Despite |
| tobacco and other addictions? Why do filmmakers | | | | repeated warnings of tobacco's undeniable dangers to |
| continue to use smoking (a recognized killer!) as a plot | | | | our health, our pocketbooks AND our political |
| device? How does such high-profile use of killer | | | | freedoms, most performers and filmmakers who |
| tobacco negatively influence our youth? | | | | smoke or promote smoking won't stop. That's why |
| With so many celebrities smoking on-screen and in | | | | many prominent medical organizations, including the |
| public, it's no wonder our kids, who already want to | | | | World Health Organization, American Lung Association, |
| look and act like the stars, start that lethal habit. | | | | American Medical Association and American Heart |
| Parents need to know about the insidious ways | | | | Association, support instituting these changes in |
| famous people influence kids to become another | | | | Hollywood: |
| generation of addicts. Scientific research proves that | | | | 1. Any film showing or implying tobacco should be rated |
| more than 390,000 children and teens in the U.S. start | | | | "R" The only exceptions would be when the |
| underage smoking each year upon seeing their | | | | presentation of tobacco clearly and unambiguously |
| favorite celebrities smoking in movies. Tragically, | | | | reflects the dangers and consequences of tobacco |
| tobacco use will someday kill 100,000 of those | | | | use or is necessary to represent the smoking of a real |
| adolescents. | | | | historical figure. |
| The list of celebrity smokers is shocking. Here are just | | | | 2. Producers should post a certificate in the closing |
| a few celebrity smokers (those alive, so far): Britney | | | | credits declaring that nobody on the production |
| Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Scarlett Johansson, Johnny | | | | received anything of value (cash, free cigarettes or |
| Depp, Colin Farrell, Leonardo DiCaprio, John Travolta, | | | | other gifts, free publicity, interest-free loans or anything |
| Mel Gibson, Jennifer Lopez, Kirsten Dunst, Kate Moss, | | | | else) from anyone in exchange for using or displaying |
| Matthew McConaughey, Russell Crowe, Simon Cowell, | | | | tobacco. |
| Mary Kate Olsen, Jennifer Aniston, Orlando Bloom. | | | | 3. Studios and theaters should require a genuinely |
| Do they realize they're likely to age quicker and more | | | | strong anti-smoking ad (not produced by a tobacco |
| noticeably because of their smoking habit? | | | | company) to run before any film with any tobacco |
| And what about movies that "hype" smoking? Scenes | | | | presence, in any distribution channel, regardless of its |
| that brazenly promote smoking routinely appear in | | | | MPAA rating. |
| romantic comedies, action/adventure flicks and | | | | 4. There should be no tobacco brand identification nor |
| dramas. Recent offenders include Ocean's Thirteen, | | | | the presence of tobacco brand imagery (such as |
| Spiderman 3, Dreamgirls, Knocked Up, and even the | | | | billboards) in the background of any movie scene. |
| Summer teen flick Nancy Drew. (To discover more | | | | (This article, in its entirety, may be copied freely, but |
| about smoking in movies, and to learn which current | | | | segments can't be taken out of context). |