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Movies without cigarettes or how to keep children away from the bad habit
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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WHO recommends that all countries ban children and teenagers from watching films that contain tobacco products and smoking scenes, and the ban should be introduced at the legislative level. According to 2009 data, it was films that contained scenes of smoking that prompted millions of teenagers to start smoking. Now almost all countries have introduced restrictions on any advertising of all tobacco products, but films still continue to have a strong influence on the younger generation. Douglas Bettcher, head of the department of infectious disease prevention, emphasized that only certain actions, including banning children and teenagers from watching films that contain smoking scenes and videos that warn about the dangers of smoking, will help prevent the formation of a bad habit among young people, which can cause disability and death.
According to one study, nearly 40% of American teenagers were induced to smoke by movies. Experts say this can lead to children becoming severely addicted to tobacco.
Experts have identified smoking scenes in almost half of the films released by Hollywood, about 60% were filmed between 2002 and 2014. According to the US Surgeon General, if all films that contain smoking scenes or in any way show tobacco products are banned from being viewed by children and teenagers, this will reduce the number of new smokers among young people by almost 20%, thereby avoiding a million deaths due to the harmful habit.
Read also: Smoking: How to quit this bad habit?
It is worth noting that films released outside the US also contain smoking scenes, with such scenes mostly found in the highest-grossing films released in the EU and Latin America.
The WHO report mentions that governments should follow recommendations that will help restrict children from "harmful" films:
- Films that contain scenes of smoking and demonstration of tobacco are only allowed to be viewed by those aged 21 and over
- indicate in the credits that tobacco products shown in films are not advertising and that such scenes were not paid for by the producers
- do not show cigarette brands in films
- run anti-smoking advertisements before showing films in cinemas, on television, and online
WHO also recommends denying the right to receive state aid to media products that advertise tobacco products.
According to the head of the nicotine addiction program, many countries have already taken measures to limit smoking scenes, for example, in China it was decided to reduce the number of scenes in which tobacco products are shown in one way or another or smoking is demonstrated, in India new rules for showing tobacco products, as well as cigarette brands, came into effect, and the rules apply to both domestic and foreign films. However, WHO experts assure that this is only a small part of what can actually be done to ensure a healthy future for the younger generation and freedom from tobacco.
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