London, ON – After last night’s glitz and glamour of the Oscars, youth from across Canada and the U.S. remind us that we need to protect kids from seeing tobacco use in movies. Nearly 94 percent (17/18) of the 2015 Oscar nominated films that featured onscreen tobacco were rated for children and teens in Ontario (G/PG/14A).
For example, over 50 occurrences of tobacco use are displayed in Birdman (Best Picture), which is rated “R” in the U.S., but is available to youth in Ontario with a rating of 14A.
“The evidence is clear. The more youth see smoking in movies, the more likely they are to start smoking themselves,” says Linda Stobo, Manager, Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control at the Middlesex-London Health Unit. “We need the Ontario Film Review Board to protect children and youth from seeing tobacco use on screen by rating movies with tobacco use 18A.”
Over 150 youth from Ontario and the U.S., including 13 teens from London and Middlesex County, joined forces on the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls to make a call to end smoking in youth-rated movies.
“It was so inspiring to be part of such a collaborative and powerful event,” says Molly Miller, member of the Middlesex-London Health Unit’s One Life One You youth group. “Together, we can make a difference and pressure the Ontario Film Review Board to consider tobacco use in the Ontario movie rating system.”
Movies already receive higher ratings based on violence, nudity and coarse language. Restricting tobacco use in youth-rated movies is about protection, not censorship. Movie producers would still be able to show tobacco use, but would do so under an 18A rating.
The cross-border event was organized by the Ontario Coalition for Smoke-Free Movies (OCSFM) and Reality Check of New York. OCSFM is an alliance of leading health organizations taking collective action to counter the harmful impact of smoking in youth-rated movies. Members of the coalition include the Ontario Lung Association, Canadian Cancer Society Ontario Division, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Non-Smokers’ Rights Association/Smoking and Health Action Foundation, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada and the Ontario Tobacco Control Networks of Public Health Units. For more information, please visit www.smokefreemovies.ca.
To access photos and videos taken from the event in Niagara Falls, please visit: www.on.lung.ca/niagara.
Media Contact:
Alex Tyml, Online Communications Coordinator, Middlesex-London Health Unit
519-663-5317 ext. 2560 or 226-236-2941 (cell.)
Spokesperson:
Linda Stobo, Manager, Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control, Middlesex-London Health Unit