Despite the irritating presence of chain-smoking “environmental” scientist Grace Augustine in “Avatar,” the number of characters who smoke in a movies is on the decline, according to a new study.
Companies routinely pay thousands of dollars to have their products placed in movies, but Avatar cause particular outrage. Sigourney Weaver’s Grace Augustine is a tough-talking, swear-like-a-sailor scientist who also chews up Marlboros.
As an environmental scientist, no less, you would think Grace would know better. And, that’s what irked critics. The smoking scenes seem pretty gratuitous and suggests that product placement fees may have had an influence.
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It also suggested that cigarette smoking would still be common long into the future, despite efforts to curb tobacco use for health reasons.
So score one for tobacco companies on that one.
But, overall, tobacco use on the silver screen peaked in 2005 and has been on the decline ever since, the study found.
Movies released last year showed about half the number of smoking incidents than films four years earlier.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta released the study, which looked at tobacco use in popular films from 1991 to 2009.
Last year, about half of the 145 movies in the study didn’t show any smoking at all.
For films aimed at children or teens, the percentage was even higher at 61 percent.
However, slightly more than half of the movies rated PG-13 did show tobacco use.
Earlier this week, actor Michael Douglas, a former heavy smoker, announced that he had throat cancer. Doctors say his prognosis is good.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
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What everything really boils down to in the end is this:
You are either stupid and impressionable enough to, for whatever reason, say ” hey there’s a smoke in this movie, I think I’ll go have one”. Or, you are one of the, sadly very few, intelligent ones who won’t really care because it does not effect you. I take neither side on this, I am not a smoker, however my husband is. Do I care? No. Why? because it is his choice and his right to do so.
Also the fact that people would actually complain over one, and I must repeat this, ONE!! Character in a movie being a smoker is truely pathetic. Thank you however for once again proving the one thing that I have believed unendingly… “regardless of our success’s, regardless of how far we have come and also may go, mankind will never cease to amaze me with it’s extrordinary, and never-ending acomplishments in stupidity”
Man some of you are way to high strung. Insults,and asking people to shoot themselves. Yes smoking is your choice as is not smoking but smokers don’t have the right to force others to smell and breath there bad habit nor do non smokers have the right to tell others what they can or can not do with there bodies. Humans in general seem to never get past the age of 5 or 6 when it comes to things like this ( I want it my way or I’ll just sit here and have a fit until I get what I want) I say do whatever it is that makes you happy and dont worry about other people because no matter what it is you do someone somewhere thinks it’s wrong and is going to bitch at you about it
HURRY UP AND SMOKE YOURSELVES OUT OF EXISTENCE ALREADY
You have got to be kidding! Just because ONE character in a movie smokes doesn’t necessarily mean that the studio took sponsorship money for it! Grace’s character is loud and ready and a bit rough around the edges, smoking goes with her character for Christ’s sake! Plus it’s unrealistic to think that NOT ONE person isn’t going to be a smoker, people are always going to do it. Portraying reality in film isn’t a crime against humanity you know. Also, you couldn’t smell it, breathe it or be affected by it in any way unless you were idiotic enough to be influenced into smoking by it, i watched the entire movie and barely registered the fact that she smokes. I seen people smoking every day one person doing it on the big screen doesn’t even remotely affect a rational person.
I thought smoking in movies had been in decline for at least thirty years.
Im jealous of people with throat cancer..
Well it is the future so you would think they would of made a less harmfull cigarette….i meen they have all that technology ect ect….they can fix everything so im sure lung cancer is no problem.
also its a damn movie, not real…derrrr.
ppl just love to cause a fuss over nothing.
Are you kidding me? Okay…Cameron/T2, you think the worst obvious ad placement EVER = SUBWAY lol. But don’t just assume this chain smoking character is a blatant walking ad to sell tobacco. Ummm, take what AVATAR is about…in essence.. It’s about us as human beings taking life for granted by polluting our bodies and our world. Her character and her bad smoking habit was purely a subtle extension of how we have been coaxed in polluting our bodies (be it over eating, smoking,etc) without even knowing it.
Who cares, in the movies they’re constantly drinking alcohol, yet you see one person light up a cigarette and it’s a call to arms. Answer this, how many people have crashed a car, beaten someone to death, etc, because they’ve had one too many cigs, then compare that against the same for booze.
Alcohol the drug, governments are too shit scared to moan about!
What really bugs me most is that while every one of us including politicians, health buffs and environmentalists complain about smoking in the movies or in public whichever case it may be. I know lots of countries have their stand against health and environmental issues, but what is actually done about it? I dare say you cannot stop these multi-billion dollar business anyway. No one will smoke if there is none for sale where ever you live. To remedy this you have to cut off the source of the problem. But in reality it’s not that easy for any government to stop these giant corporations who pay insane amounts of taxes and what not.
Wolverene, cutting off the source to cut off the problem worked so well during prohibition …. oh wait no it didn’t …. but education is key. I’m not going to go smoke because I saw someone do it in a movie. I’ve seen enough nasty pictures of the results smoking to let a couple movies sway my opinion.
Smoker, have you heard of a little thing called lung cancer. That kills people too! I’m not going to pretend that I know that stats to compare dui accidents to smoking illness but that really is beside the point. Yes, drinking and driving is bad BUT drinking in moderation and being responsible doesn’t do much damage (and yes I know drinking in excess can harm your body). Smoking makes you sick. That is an undeniable fact. The problem with it is that it also makes people around you sick.
I don’t care one way or another whether people smoke in movies. I hope the general population is smart enough to make there own decisions. As for it being product placement…I don’t think it is. I’ve seen old movies with obvious smoking ads. You can tell the difference. i.s. everyone smokes except that one guy where nothing ever goes his way and then que the makeover including the cigarette and he’s sitting on top of the world…seeing that in a movie would concern me but luckily doesn’t happen much anymore.
And, Chris, good call on the pollution analogy.
I don’t know if anyone else spotted this but they can grow an entire body. some how I don’t think a dirty lung is going to pose much of a problem.
To be honest – the smoking in ‘avatar’ did not bother me at all. Can’t really see why it does. I mean – its not a movie made specifically for children, nor for teens. As such, we have an adult actor, whose adult character choose to have a bad habit… And look – she even died! (not from smoking – but still) Lots of people continue to smoke despite the ‘tobacco is bad’ campaigns… and will probably still smoke in 30 years. For my part – as long as the smokers toss their cigarettes properly (as in not just step on them and leave), don’t smoke in ‘public’ places and do their best not to stink… (allergies) – well – I don’t really see the problem.
I would much prefer to have all the smoking back in lieu of fornication on screen!
Well, damn i didn´t find this earlier … lol
But here is my 50 cent …
Everyone should know, that movies and videos are subject to editing … the right shade of light, grading and other aspects like make-up will portrait the character as intended.
Looking at the character Weaver is displaying in Avatar, i would rather see it as an Anti-Smoking placement …
Watch the flick in 3D and look for yourself … you will see the smokers typical pale skin and exhausted facial features on her, so the make-up and visual filters to portrait just that
BTW … notice the immense amount of colorful magic mushrooms in that forest …
It’s probably not a classic cigarette as we know them today. Most likely a “nutritionette” developed by progressive companies, like Philip Morris. The beneficial nutrients infused into the “nutritionette” in turn completely heal the damage of the method of introduction and tremendously benefit the “patient” both in mood and physical regenerative ability.
I’ve seen people smoke and drink in movies but I don’t smoke and I don’t drink. Idiots like the one who wrote this story need to shove his/her views up his/her ass. People have a right to smoke since cigs aren’t illegal YET. I bet he/she is on the odipshit sheeple bandwagon.
Oh boo hoo. Everyone has the right to kill themselves slowly if they want to, smoking isn’t THAT big of a deal.
Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Movies on the Decline, New Study Says http://bit.ly/armClb
Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke on the Decline via TheImproper News – Despite the irritating … http://tinyurl.com/2vyegcq
Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke on the Decline, New Study Says http://bit.ly/armClb
tbh, I think these people are wankers. I rather liked the fact she chain smoked, it was ironic. – http://www.theimproper.com/film/?p=1018
அன்புமணிஸ் இன் அமெரிக்கா http://www.theimproper.com/film/?p=1018
Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline http://www.theimproper.com/film/?p=1018
RT @TopsyRT: Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline http://bit.ly/armClb
[...] Product placement, we all notice it. Crate and Barrel most likely shelled out the big bucks for their bags and boxes to cameo in You, Me, and Dupree, as did Audi in Iron Man. I don’t need to tell you that the Audi placement put them on the map in luxury cars market with a little vroom vroom under the hood. Crate and Barrel didn’t get as much out of their screen time, but it’s a nice little reminder that they should be the go to place to furnish your new home and kitchen cabinets. One product we don’t see discreetly being plugged in movies so much anymore is cigarettes. Who would have guessed that one of the highest grossing movie of this year would take money to promote the cancer-causing killer. And guess whom they picked to puff the addiction stick? The environmental scientist played by Sigourey Weaver. Ironic, no? [...]
RT @TopsyRT: Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline http://bit.ly/armClb
RT @TopsyRT: Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline http://bit.ly/aLk2lL #fuméeDeClopeDansLesFilms
RT @TopsyRT: Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline http://bit.ly/aLk2lL
Smoking is bad. ) = http://www.theimproper.com/film/1018/characters-who-smoke-in-films-on-the-decline
RT @TopsyRT: Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline http://bit.ly/aLk2lL
Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline – http://www.theimproper.com/film/1018/characters-who-smoke-in-films-on-the-decline
RT @TopsyRT: #Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline http://bit.ly/evd4kG
Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline | The Improper Film http://3numb3rs.com/3urls/h
Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline http://bit.ly/evd4kG
RT @TopsyRT: Avatar Aside, Film Characters Who Smoke in Decline http://bit.ly/evd4kG
smoking declining in movies ..
guess that's not really a surprise
http://bit.ly/ki9v1i