Solution
We want smoking out of youth rated movies!
But how? The best way to convince Hollywood to stop putting smoking in youth movies (or to stop them from accepting money from big tobacco) is to change how movies are rated. The movie studios know that movies that are rated 18-A make a heck of a lot less money then those that are rated G, PG or 14-A. To get smoking out of youth rated movies, the Ontario Film Review Board needs to give future movies that contain smoking a rating of 18-A. Currently, studios edit their movies (cutting swear words, or violence) to make sure that they get lower ratings, and therefore more money. By making smoking one of those things that gets movies a rating of 18-A, studios will seriously consider whether or not smoking is needed, and opt to cut it out.
Check out the Speak Out! section to see what you can do to fight the tobacco industry for smoke-free movies.
The World Health Organization has proposed 3 other guidelines for movie studios to make this problem go away.:
- Make the movie studios certify that they have not been paid money by the tobacco industry
- Not allow specific brands to be displayed on-screen (if big tobacco isn’t paying for it anyways, why give them a free plug?)
- Play anti-tobacco messages before movies
