Smoking in movies criticized by health unit as WIFF starts
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is targeting the Windsor International Film Festival as part of its anti-smoking campaign.
“While this is a time for the film industry to celebrate, it’s also important to shed light on a disturbing trend of tobacco content in youth-rated movies, both locally and globally,” the health unit said in a statement.
More than 100 films will be screened in Windsor over nine days, starting Saturday.
According to the health unit, 86 per cent of the top-grossing movies in Ontario that featured tobacco last year were rated acceptable for children and teens. Those included films rated G, PG and 14A.
“Seeing these depictions of tobacco use on a repeated basis tends to normalize the behaviour,” said Theresa Sarkis, the youth engagement specialist for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. “It happens without them knowing.”
Sarkis said even smokers in the background can normalize the behaviour.
“Hollywood plays an important part in shaping our popular culture,” Sarkis said.
The health unit claims “research data suggests that 44 per cent of the estimated 300,000 Canadian teens who smoke, first lit up because they saw a character smoking in a film.”
“Research shows that children and teenagers who have role models that are smoking, whether they are parents or characters in movies, are two and three times as likely to pick up that behaviour,” Sarkis said.
Sarkis said the health unit would like to see more restrictive ratings of films that include smoking.
She's not alone.
In September, the Canadian Cancer Society called for movies showing on-screen smoking be rated for 18 years and older “to ensure all future youth-rated movies are smoke-free”.
On its website, the Society says, "on-screen smoking in movies is one of the last places tobacco use can be advertised to youth.”
The Canadian Cancer Society is asking Canadians encourage politicians to change movie ratings.
Sarkis said the health unit wants to work with WIFF next year when selecting films.
“We’re hoping to be at the film festival next year; if not as part of the planning process we would hope to be there for at least the opening night to bring attention to smoking in movies,” she said.
Vincent Gerogie is the Executive Director of WIFF and a professor of marketing at the University of Windsor.
"It's not really the role of a film festival to step in and censor directors or film makers," he said.
"And I don't think that's what being suggested here over all. It would be more of a question that we always want to show something that's appropriate and we always do for an appropriate audience."
Georgie said that's why movies come with a rating.
"In Canada it's really a policy question that the ratings board needs to take a closer look at to see what ratings appropriate for a film and how severe or mild they want to make the use of tobacco to be something that is highly impactful in a film's rating."
