Why Movie Characters Smoke so Much?

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Why Movie Characters Smoke so Much?

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Why Movie Characters Smoke so Much?

Hello everyone!

A few months ago my wife called my attention to this subject: why so many movie characters smoke?

I never actually realized, but that's, indeed, a weird phenomenon. According to some CDC statistics that I've found on Google, about 12% of the adult male population in the United States (where Hollywood is, so let's go with that number) actually smoke. In the other hand, in almost every movie in existance, there's several characters that smoke.

I haven't found any formal study on the subject, but it seems obvious to me that there are WAY more than 12% of movie characters that smoke, especially if you consider only movies that are meant for an adult audience (removing cartoons, family-friendly movies, etc.).

It's almost an ubiquitous part of the cinema industry: in nearly every genre of movie, in nearly every situation, there's several characters that do smoke.

But.... why?

See, I'm not a smoker myself, but I'm not stupid. I do understand that smoking is culturally associated with being rebellious, independent, sexy, tough...

But it feels so cheap, on today's world in which everyone knows that smoking is bad, that movie directors keep shoving down everyone's throat that every "cool" character HAS to smoke. If there's a sexy male protagonist, of a femme fatale, there's an incredibly high chance of he/she also smoking.

It's a trope, indeed, but an outdated trope. There are dozens of tropes that were a thing in the past but the industry moved past as they were considered bad by today's standards, like suicide on cartoons (Tom suicided several times back in the days) or the perfect-hero (with unquestionable moral, incredible physical strenght and perfect strategic skills).

Anyway. What I'm trying to say is: I can't understand why the movie industry keep using the "cool smoker" trope in 2023.

Thanks for reading this post, and until next time!

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Tá aí uma ótima pergunta 🤔 Pode ser por estilo ou porque reflete a cultura de quem vive entre diretores, empresários, que parecem que fumam muito mais do que os demais, mas realmente não reflete a sociedade atual 😉

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Nunca pensei nisso, mas faz sentido que alguns grupos (como artistas) tenham mais fumantes, e isso impacte a própria arte produzida por eles!

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You've also just drawn my attention to that. It's really true that they do smoke a lot in movies. Maybe there's something psychological behind that. Who knows,?

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Exactly what happened when my wife said: I was "wtf, I never realized that, but it's 100% true"!

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Now that you mentioned it, I just thought about it and you’re actually correct.

Also, believe it or not, I'm not actually a squirrel! This handsome rodent in my profile picture is a character from 'Conker: Live & Reloaded'.

Now this is funny😂😂

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I've subconsciously noticed it too but never said it out loud. I think it could be a cultural thing and marketing ploy to grab the attention of a wider audience.

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Great article. I agree that characters should stop smoking. It is a disgusting and stinky habit that should be broken.

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The movie in which the people smoke is not real some time which they smoke are the flavour. Agree ?

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Because it makes them look cool of course... Very bad examples...

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Specific brand references to cigarettes/tobacco are now banned from tv and films, so big tobacco probably just pays money to have as much general cigarette smoking going down in the films as humanly possible to help bolster the dying industry.

Big Tobacco probably owns most of the cigarette company's brands by now, so having a smoker in any film is seen as good business for them since it will probably lead to plenty of new smokers. Big Tobacco can still pay these directors to get the characters to smoke cigarettes, as long as there are no specific brands mentioned. A majority of Hollywood directors probably care more about money than the viewer's health, so they promote unhealthy choices.
https://smokefreemedia.ucsf.edu/history/timeline#:~:text=In%20one%20year%20alone%2C%20tobacco,their%20stars%20under%20ironclad%20contracts.
I don't smoke either, and whenever I see a movie character smoking I usually laugh because it makes the movie seem more unrealistic, especially when it's an action movie because, in reality, anyone that smokes is not going to be healthy and be able to run all around without wheezing and coughing. Also when I see the models smoking I always imagine how bad their breath must be. lol

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I didn't knew that tobacco marketing on movies was banned, but it makes sense tbh. I don't remember watching a movie and having a character with a brand product.

Nonetheless, it also makes sense that the big companies keep paying for the advertising. There's, like, 3 companies that dominate the whole market: if they all act together, it doesn't matter which brand you purchase as you'll end up buying their products anyway.

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At times , I do think it as something to do with the role thy are playing

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