The Middlesex-London Health Unit is once again stressing the dangers of depicting smoking on the big screen.
The health unit is joining the World Health Organization (WHO) in calling on the government to do more to stop kids from lighting up, including rating any movie that portrays tobacco use as "18A" or "R".
The call comes in the midst of the International Week of Action on Smoke-Free Movies, held annually the week leading up to Hollywood's biggest night - the Academy Awards.
The WHO's most recent report on the issue says movies depicting tobacco use are a catalyst for millions of young people worldwide to take up the deadly habit.
"The World Health Organization's report really does align with research that was done here in Ontario by the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit," says Linda Stobo, manager of chronic disease prevention and tobacco control at Middlesex-London Health Unit. "What they found was at least 185,000 children and teens in Ontario will be enticed to smoke cigarettes as a result of exposure to onscreen depictions of smoking."
Stobo says the repeated calls on the film industry to drop tobacco use that is not required or part of depicting history in movies are starting to be hear.
"We have seen some movement with some of the movie companies, they have reduced their impressions of tobacco use. They have made decisions that for films that are rated for children or youth that they have taken out the tobacco. We need to realize we have less and less people using tobacco, the evidence is very clear that there is no safe use of tobacco," says Stobo.
The health unit is encouraging people to sign e-petitions, take action on social media and write letters to the Ontario Film Review Board on the issue.
More information can be found at www.smokefreemovies.ca.
