From Toronto to New Delhi, Liverpool to Jakarta, families around the world say the film industry fails our kids.

Hollywood movies dominate screens in almost every country. Studies in Germany, New Zealand and Mexico, as well as the United States, find that on-screen smoking on screen is a primary recruiter of new young smokers — and US films deliver the most tobacco impressions.

Headlines from Ankara, Bangkok, Beijing, Taipei, London, New Delhi, Jakarta and other cities show rising concern among public health authorities. In 2007, ASH New Zealand and the European Network for Smoking Prevention (ENSP), representing 700 organizations in thirty countries, endorsed the four smokefree movie policies.

There’s no better time for parents and young people around the world to tell the film industry to stop doing the tobacco industry’s dirty work. Press events, education at theaters and DVD retailers, civic resolutions, and personal letters to major US studios and their corporate owners all send the message: Stop toxic movies. Smoking in movies kills in real life.

India orders smoking films to carry on-screen warnings

In November 2011, the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in consultation with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, announced that films and programs would now need to "justify" any smoking content, display on-screen warnings, and include a 20-second disclaimer delivered by any actor seen smoking. Films with smoking will be limited to broadcast periods with fewer young viewers and all new films with smoking must carry at least a "UA" film classification — one step short of the adult rating ("A" in India) recommended by the World Health Organization.

The rules also apply to foreign films and video programming imported into India. India's government began developing these measures after traditional tobacco advertising was banned in 2004 and cigarette imagery subsequently exploded in Bollywood films, a development spotlighted by Indian NGOs. Read the official release.

In Liverpool, youth and health experts press to adult-rate future film smoking.

The Liverpool youth movement against tobacco, D•Myst, and a coalition of regional health agencies have asked the City Council to classify future movies with smoking for audiences 18 and older. D•Myst led the national initiative to make public sports stadiums smokefree. Liverpool also spearheaded the fight for smokefree workplaces and public areas in the UK.

The coalition simply observes that the British Board of Film Classification has failed to enforce its own rules, which, if fairly applied would lead it to rate smoking films "18" (the UK equivalent of a US "R" rating). Properly rating films for smoking in the UK is particularly important because the BBFC often rates US movies with smoking for younger audiences — exposing local young people to even higher levels of smoking than youth in the US. Fortunately, local jurisdictions have the right to override the BBFC. Download details.

Annual International Week of Action in early spring

Scheduled the same week as the Academy Awards, the International Week of Action on Smokefree Movies is a chance for youth groups, parent groups, health organizations and consumer alliances in different countries to pressure the globalized film and tobacco industries in a highly coordinated way. Contact us for more information.

Theater slides, newspaper ads and rolling billboards mark 2006 International Day of Action.

What kids around the world are saying! "Whole World is Watching" video | Windows Media | Quicktime | Real | (8 mb) Cameras took to the streets around the globe to capture the feelings of the largest generation in world history. It’s raw. It’s real.

GLOBAL REPORTS

• World Health Organization (WHO) has supported Smoke Free Movies worldwide since 2003.
• Indian study finds smoking exploded and the display of Philip Morris and BAT brands almost tripled in Bollywood films after India banned tobacco ads in other media in 2004.
• Time Warner films promoted British American Tobacco (BAT) in Nigeria | 1 | 2
• How Philip Morris used film placement to open Japanese market.

“Taking It to Hollywood": International Day of Action video! Two rolling billboards hit the streets at the Oscars®. L.A. County public health director Jonathan Fielding, MD, tells it straight. Studios are starting to listen. | Windows Media | Quicktime | Real | (7 mb)