With the Academy Awards coming up this coming Sunday, the Huron County Health Unit is calling for a policy to prevent smoking in youth-related movies.
The World Health Organization finds that movies showing the use of tobacco products have enticed millions of youth to smoke world wide.
In Ontario, smoking in youth movies will likely contribute at least 185,000 youth to start smoking.
An International Week of Action will lead up to the Oscars in an attempt to raise awareness about the issue.
“Although there is tight restrictions among other forms of tobacco advertising, there is no policy or law to control tobacco exposure in films”, says Shayna Melady, Health Promotion Intern with the Huron County Health Unit. “Movies tend to glamourize and normalize tobacco use, giving young people the wrong message.” International Week of Action is an annual event leading up to the Oscars that brings together members of the smoke-free movies action networks from around the world to raise awareness on this issue. “The evidence is clear, the more kids and teens see smoking in movies, the more likely they are to start”, says Melady. “There are many ways to get involved, and we are encouraging our community to learn more about the influence of tobacco in movies, and to take action.” We will be sharing information about smoking in movies every day this week, in hopes to get the word out, and help everyone understand the issue and what they can do about it.
Visit www.smokefreemovies.ca for more information or to take action.