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  • Tobacco Imagery in Movies Increases 10%: Report

    Tobacco Imagery in Movies Increases 10%: Report

    The new report from the Truth Initiative found that more than half of 2024’s top films featured tobacco imagery, an increase of 10 percentage points from the previous year. The Tobacco in Films: 2024 report found that 51% of the top 152 box office films contained tobacco imagery, up from 41% in 2023, with a 43% surge in total tobacco incidents (2,858 in 2024 versus 1,989 in 2023). Among films rated appropriate for youth (G, PG, and PG-13), 34% included tobacco imagery.

    According to the report, studios outside of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) were responsible for the majority of tobacco depictions, with companies such as Amazon, A24, and other independent distributors driving the surge. In 2024, non-MPA studios released 69 films featuring tobacco use, compared with eight movies from MPA member studios. 

    The report builds on Truth Initiative’s longstanding While You Were Streaming report series, which has led efforts to raise awareness and drive action on the impact of tobacco depictions on screens.

  • Truth Initiative Warns Smoking Depictions Threaten Real Decline

    Truth Initiative Warns Smoking Depictions Threaten Real Decline

    According to Truth Initiative’s latest While You Were Streaming report, tobacco depictions in movies jumped by 70% in 2023, which was the first increase since 2020. Meanwhile, 70% of binge-watched shows popular with 15- to 24-year-olds featured tobacco use, according to the seventh-annual report.

    “While youth vaping is down, on-screen tobacco imagery threatens to undo that progress,” said Dr. Jessica Rath, senior vice president of the Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute. “Young people deserve content and on-screen resources that support their well-being — not imagery that makes them more likely to start smoking or vaping.”

    “Widespread tobacco imagery, often portrayed as edgy, rebellious, or cool, risks normalizing nicotine use and slowing the current positive momentum in prevention,” the report said. “In 2023 alone, nearly 17 million young people were exposed to streaming shows that featured tobacco. Research from Truth Initiative shows that the more young people see tobacco imagery while binge-watching, the more likely they are to report intentions to vape or smoke in the future.”