It’ll kill you – so what is the eternal allure of the on-screen cigarette? | Ryan Gilbey

Netflix has been told off over depictions of smoking. But it’s a habit that’s hard for broadcasters and film-makers to kick

It seems unfair of the US public health organisation Truth Initiative to single out Netflix for special censure in a new report on depictions of on-screen smoking. The study found that “79% of the shows most popular with young people aged 15-24 depict smoking prominently”.

It isn’t that there is no cause for concern here. The US surgeon general has said: “Youths who are heavily exposed to onscreen smoking imagery are approximately two to three times more likely to begin smoking than youths who are less exposed”. But what does Truth Initiative expect in the case of a period piece such as Netflix’s Stranger Things, which was the worst offender? The programme makers might just as easily be reprimanded for featuring too many shaggy hairdos and crimes of fashion. It’s the 1980s. It comes with the territory.

Related: Stub it out: Netflix criticised for too many smoking scenes

Continue reading... March 22, 2018 at 05:21PM