Effects of Smoking in the Movies
When we think of Hollywood we think of glamour and creativity, and we all know how the movies can influence the public too. It can make us select a certain type of clothing, it can inspire us to visit faraway places, and unfortunately it can lead us to do things that are very bad for our health. For example, one of the worst things to come out of the movies is an increased risk for people to pick up smoking as a so-called glamorous habit.
Consider that over two thousand young people will become underage smokers in the United States each day of the year. Of them it is estimated that around half, or one thousand of them will be inspired to do so after seeing a favorite celebrity smoking in a movie or television show. In fact, more than eighty percent of the PG-13 movies released in any given year will depict tobacco use and around sixty percent of the stars in such films are shown smoking. These percentages don’t match up to “real world” statistics, but they do lead to thousands of kids lighting up their first cigarettes each year.
Of the one thousand new smokers each day that are motivated to experiment with cigarettes after seeing a favorite star do so, around three hundred and forty of them will acquire some sort of disease or chronic illness associated with smoking. Most of them will perish from this “glamorous” problem.
That is the major problem of smoking and the movies; it inaccurately depicts the smoker, their lifestyle, their health, and their looks. The common “smoker’s cough” is never depicted in films, nor are the yellow teeth, unpleasant smells, and damaged clothing that are the everyday issues associated with a smoking habit. The films also rarely show the long-term costs of smoking either. It is truly rare to see a throat, lung, or other form of cancer patient bemoaning their choice to smoke a pack or more each day.
Fortunately, most people are now aware of the potential threats that smoking can bring, and even some who glamorized it are now working hard to undo their earlier actions. Take the late Audrey Hepburn who died of cancer associated with smoking in the 1990s as an example. Her estate does not license or permit any imagery of her that shows smoking of any kind even though some of her most famous characters were those who are seen with cigarettes throughout the film. This is just one small way that some stars, or their families, are working to prevent smoking from ruining the lives of others.
