Reality Check Youth Push for R-rating in Films that Depict Tobacco Use

Brentwood, NY (04/25/2023) - Long Island Reality Check Youth hosted a movie screening at the Brentwood Freshman Center to bring awareness to the issue of tobacco influence in youth films. They screened Cruella, a Disney film which features tobacco use and has a PG-13 rating. Reality Check’s Smoke-Free Movies Initiative focuses on reducing tobacco imagery in films and urges the Motion Picture Association (MPA) to assign an R-rating to films that feature tobacco usage.

“Giving an R-rating to future movies that show people smoking would be expected to reduce the number of teen smokers by nearly 1 in 5,” said Nicole Lopez, Reality Check member from Brentwood, “Experts from the Center of Disease Control suggest that would prevent up to 1 million deaths from smoking among children alive today.”[1]

The event was in honor of International Week of Action for Smoke-Free Movies which is held every year to coincide with the Academy Awards to raise awareness about the impact of smoking in movies and television programming. During the movie screening event, Reality Check youth leaders from Brentwood educated their peers about the increasing prevalence and glamorization of tobacco imagery in movies – which increases the risk of youth initiation.

“Young people often feel that they have no voice in a world run by adults. Reality Check youth are empowered to speak up about matters that not only pertain to tobacco influence, but also issues that impact their communities,” stated Stacy Dacelien, Reality Check Coordinator.

Reality Check is a youth led, adult supported movement in New York State that empowers youth to become leaders in their communities, exposing the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. Reality Check of Long Island is the youth component of Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island.

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The Tobacco Action Coalition of LI is one of 21 Advancing Tobacco Free Communities’ grants funded by the NYS DOH’s Bureau of Tobacco Control and administered by the American Lung Association. Our grant is comprised of a community engagement and youth action component, Reality Check, who work collaboratively to promote environments open to creating a tobacco-free norm as well as educating and empowering our youth to become change agents within their communities.

[1] (2020, November 10). Smoking in the Movies | CDC. Cdc. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/da...