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Anti-smoking activists target TIFF, Hollywood

Updated Fri. Sep. 8 2006 11:08 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Anti-smoking activists will launch a campaign during the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, to bring attention to the number of movies showing actors enjoying cigarettes.

"We're having youth groups from Ontario and some community volunteers come out and raise awareness that smoking in movies can turn adolescents into smokers," Irene Gallagher, of the Ontario Tobacco-free Network, told CTV.ca

Unlike previous anti-smoking campaigns that have targeted Hollywood, in which activists suggested placing a restricted rating on films that feature smoking, Gallagher said this campaign focuses on education.

According to Health Canada, non-smoking teenagers who see their favourite film stars smoking on screen are 16 times more likely to "develop positive attitudes toward smoking."

Actors could once legally receive endorsements from U.S. tobacco companies for smoking in American films, until the practice was stopped in 1999.

But since that time, Gallagher said smoking in youth-rated films (rated in the U.S. as G, PG or PG-13) has actually increased by 10 per cent. In 2005, she said 58 per cent of the top youth-rated films depicted smoking.

"We're asking the question, and we want others to ask the question, 'Why is it increasing?'" said Gallagher. "Is it paid product placements? And if it is, why are they there ... if tobacco companies have promised not to do that?"

However, according to the website Smoke Free Movies, several film companies actually show a decrease in the amount of youth-rated films with smoking scenes between 1999 and 2005.

The Disney Company produced and distributed 122 youth-rated films during that period. Of those films, most had smoking scenes:

Youth-rated movies: 122 (62%)
Youth-rated movies showing smoking scenes: 83 of 122 (68%)
PG-13 movies with smoking: 67 of 81 (83%)
PG movies with smoking: 13 of 32 (41%)
G movies with smoking: 3 of 9 (33%)

But in 1999, the company produced and distributed 17 youth-rated films, and 82 per cent of them included smoking scenes. In 2005, Disney released 15 youth-rated films, and only 53 per cent showed smoking.

Gallagher argued that tobacco companies likely want actors to continue smoking in films because it generates huge profits.

She cited a University of California study that suggested smoking scenes in movies generate $4.1 billion US in sales revenue for American tobacco companies every year.

"That's a huge profit. If they're generating that much money from smoking scenes, why did they promise not to have paid product placements anywhere?" said Gallagher.