WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
HOW ON-SCREEN TOBACCO IMAGERY
DRIVES YOUTH ECIGARETTE USE AND
WHAT THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
CAN DO TO CHANGE THE PICTURE
TOBACCO’S
STARRING ROLE
CONTENTS
Executive Summary .....................................................1
Introduction ............................................................4
Shows popular with young people continue to include tobacco ..................6
Showtime, Netflix, and Fox top the list of tobacco depictions by network .........7
Binge-worthy shows continue to depict tobacco imagery ....................... 9
Tobacco saturates animated shows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Vaping imagery remains steady ..........................................10
Nearly half of top 2021 movies contain tobacco imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Tobacco in music videos .................................................14
Ending tobacco imagery on screens .......................................14
Appendix: Methods for Show Selection and Analysis .........................18
References ............................................................19
1
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
TOBACCO’S STARRING ROLE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
T
obacco imagery maintained its recurring and often
starring role in popular on-screen entertainment in 2021,
alongside some incremental progress, according to
Truth Initiative’s fifth annual look at tobacco imagery in
entertainment, “While You Were Streaming: Tobacco’s
Starring Role.” The report once again analyzes tobacco
imagery across the 15 streaming shows most popular
among 15- to 24-year-olds, the most binge-watched shows,
as well as the year’s most popular movies and music
videos.
On-screen tobacco imagery across varied media point
to a persistent problem with the normalization and
glamorization of smoking and vaping in entertainment
media and pop culture. Long-established research tells
us that smoking in movies prompts young people to start
using tobacco, and Truth Initiative research published
in 2020 was the first to establish that link with episodic
streaming entertainment, demonstrating that exposure to
tobacco imagery in such media can triple a young person’s
odds of starting to vape. Continued on-screen tobacco
depictions are putting today’s younger generations at risk
of a lifetime of addiction. Our report finds that:
>
60% of the 15 most popular shows among 15- to
24-year-olds contained depictions of tobacco in 2021,
showing no improvement from 2020 and effectively
exposing 25 million young people to tobacco imagery.
>
The Showtime hit and this year’s top offender
“Shameless” more than doubled its number
of depictions from its prior season, propelling
Showtime to become the platform with the most
tobacco imagery.
>
Previous top offender Netflix demonstrated a notable
decline in tobacco depictions, although youth-rated
and frequently binge-watched “Stranger Things”
continues to include tobacco imagery despite
the network’s 2019 pledge to eliminate tobacco
depictions in youth-rated shows.
60% of the 15 most popular shows
among 15- to 24-year-olds
contained depictions of tobacco
in 2021, showing no improvement
from 2020 and effectively exposing
25 million young people to
tobacco imagery.
>
47% of top movies released in 2021 depicted
tobacco imagery, according to a separate analysis
by NORC at the University of Chicago. Movies with
tobacco imagery included the PG-rated “The Girl
Who Believed in Miracles” and 17 PG-13-rated or
under movies, exposing an estimated 25 million
youth and young adults ages 15-24 to tobacco
imagery in top box office movies available on
streaming.
>
Analysis of the top 2021 Billboard songs revealed
that 12.8% of songs had 290 tobacco depictions in
their music videos and were viewed over 2 billion
times, down dramatically from 23% in 2020.
2
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
Truth Initiative commends the progress that has come
alongside years of increasing pressure from public
health organizations, policymakers, and public officials
for entertainment companies and creators to do more
to address tobacco imagery. However, more needs
to be done to make sure these become permanent
shifts and that we continue to drive these numbers
down to fully end the impact and influence of tobacco
in our culture. We especially encourage those in the
entertainment industry, both creators and distributors,
to build on this recent progress and end tobacco’s on-
screen role across all screens. Specifically, Truth
Initiative recommends:
>
Urging distributors to develop transparent and
publicly available anti-tobacco policies and
ensure that content creators are aware of these
policies.
>
Expanding education and outreach to directors,
writers, producers, actors, and parents about
the harmful and potentially deadly effects of
tobacco content on screen and the importance
of keeping all tobacco products out of shows
that young people watch.
>
Including anti-smoking and anti-vaping
messages before and during shows that feature
tobacco imagery, demonstrating the harmful
effects of increasingly popular e-cigarette
products.
>
Ensuring that content with tobacco depictions
is not eligible for local tax breaks and other
incentives and that no parties or persons
involved with a production were compensated
in exchange for including tobacco depictions in
a show.
>
Continuing and expanding ongoing research
to document and understand the impact of
streaming on youth culture and the many ways
that it can impact youth health.
>
Providing viewers with static screen shots that
present validated and evidence-based resources
to assist youth with nicotine dependence, much
like the way streaming companies handle
suicide prevention, eating disorders and other
illnesses that affect youth.
Continued on-screen tobacco depictions are putting today’s
younger generations at risk of a lifetime of addiction.
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
STREAMING
WHILE
YOU WERE
60%
of 15-24 year-olds’
top 15 new shows,
exposing an
estimated 25 million
young people
47%
of top newly
released movies,
exposing an
estimated 25 million
young people
+2B
YouTube views
of top 2021
Billboard song
music videos
Truth Initiative’s fifth annual report analyzing
tobacco use in entertainment finds that tobacco imagery
maintained its recurring role in popular on-screen
entertainment in 2021 – fueling an ongoing youth
e-cigarette crisis – alongside signs of progress.
tobacco imagery appeared in:
Young people are 3x more likely to
start vaping when exposed to
tobacco imagery in popular
streaming and TV shows
Higher exposure to smoking in
movies makes youth 2x more
likely to use tobacco
Decreases in tobacco depictions from Netflix
(651 to 157) and Fox (236 to 97 depictions)
Top Billboard songs that included
tobacco in their music videos
dropped from 23% to 12.8%
t
Tobacco imagery appeared in:
- 60% of 15-24 year-olds’ top 15 new shows, exposing an estimated 25 million young people
- 47% of top newly released movies, exposing an estimated 24.9 million young people
- 2B+ YouTube views of top 2021 Billboard song music videos
Even as peer-reviewed research shows:
- Young people are 3x more likely to start vaping when exposed to tobacco imagery in
popular streaming and TV shows
- Higher exposure to smoking in movies makes youth 2x more likely to use tobacco
But there were signs of progress in 2021 compared to 2020, including:
- Decreases in tobacco depictions from Netix (651 to 157--76% decrease) and Fox (236 to 97
depictions--59% decrease)
- Top Billboard songs that included tobacco in their music videos dropped from 23%to 12.8%
These signs of progress must continue and become part of permanent policies and other actions
to reduce youth exposure.
Even as peer-reviewed research shows:
but there were signs of progress in 2021 compared to 2020, including:
-76%
NETFLIX
-59%
FOX
These signs of progress must continue and become part of permanent policies
and other actions to reduce youth exposure.
4
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
INTRODUCTION
T
obacco imagery maintained its recurring and often starring role in
popular on-screen entertainment in 2021, even as rigorous, peer-reviewed
research shows that these images can influence young viewers to start
using tobacco products. Truth Initiative’s fifth annual analysis of tobacco
in entertainment finds 60% of the 15 most popular shows among 15- to
24-year-olds contained depictions of tobacco in 2021 — the same as
2020 — effectively exposing 25 million young people to tobacco imagery.
On-screen tobacco use, often portrayed as glamorous and edgy, not only
remained common across young people’s favorite shows, but also among
the year’s top movies and music videos, which were viewed over 2 billion
times. Entertainment companies, creators, distributors, artists, actors, and
media decision-makers at all levels need to understand the consequences
of this imagery and refuse to allow their platforms to help the tobacco
industry put a new generation at risk for a lifetime of nicotine addiction.
As the youth vaping crisis persists — with over 2.5 million middle and
high school students using e-cigarettes, according to the latest data
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — research shows
on-screen tobacco imagery is directly contributing to the crisis. A
landmark 2020 Truth Initiative study published in Preventive Medicine
found that exposure to smoking imagery through episodic programming
can triple a young person’s odds of starting to vape nicotine. These
findings add to well-established research that confirms how exposure to
smoking in movies causes young people to start smoking, a conclusion
reached in a 2012 Surgeon General report. Nicotine is uniquely harmful to
developing brains and can disrupt the formation of brain circuits that
control attention, learning, and may make youth more susceptible to
addiction at a later age. Nicotine use can also worsen anxiety symptoms,
amplify feelings of depression and increase stress, establishing a
worrisome link to the growing youth mental health crisis, which was the
subject of a Surgeon General’s Advisory issued in December 2021.
At a critical time for the health of young people, there are some
incremental signs of progress in reducing tobacco imagery on screen.
Though the number of top shows featuring tobacco — 60%— was the same
as 2020, nearly all shows that had previously appeared on the list
decreased the amount of smoking and vaping imagery compared to their
last season. Only one show — Showtime hit and this year’s top offender
“Shameless” — increased its tobacco depictions. Netflix, last year’s top-
offending platform, markedly decreased its tobacco depictions from 651 in
2020 to 157 in 2021. Progress also extended to music videos and movies:
for music videos, 12.8% of the top 2021 Billboard songs included tobacco, a
drop from 23% in 2020. A separate analysis by NORC at the University of
Chicago of top movies released in 2021 finds that nearly half (47%)
depicted tobacco imagery. This was up from 38% in 2020, when many films
delayed a theatrical release, but down from 51% in 2019, which may
A landmark Truth
Initiative study published in
Preventive Medicine found
that exposure to smoking
imagery through episodic
programming can triple
a young person’s odds
of starting to vape nicotine.
5
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
be a more comparable year. It is important that these signs of progress
continue and become part of permanent policies among creators and
distributors of youth-appealing content of all kinds.
Since Truth Initiative first sounded the alarm on the prominence of tobacco
in streaming content and other pop culture entertainment with its 2018
report, “While You Were Streaming: Tobacco Use Sees a Renormalization
in On-Demand Digital Content, Diluting Progress in Broadcast & Theaters,”
entertainment companies and creators have faced increasing pressure
from public health organizations, policymakers, and public officials to do
more to address tobacco imagery. A coalition of public health groups and
researchers have been spreading awareness of the issue among decision-
makers. State and federal officials, including the National Association of
Attorneys General and a group of U.S. senators, have repeatedly urged
industry leaders to take greater action to limit youth exposure to tobacco
imagery given the public health consequences.
Industry leaders must accelerate progress to protect young viewers
from tobacco imagery. Necessary actions include developing and
publishing comprehensive policies that prohibit the normalization of
tobacco, certifying that companies have not received industry payoffs,
and distributing tobacco and vaping prevention messages. There is an
opportunity for companies and creators to heed the call and prioritize the
health of young people over depictions of a highly addictive and harmful
product. We encourage those who play any role in deciding whether
tobacco stars in content popular with young people to build on this recent
progress and end tobacco’s role across all screens. The entertainment
industry should not allow their platforms to help the tobacco industry
addict a new generation of young people to nicotine. They have the power,
and the facts about the impact of smoking and vaping imagery on youth, to
change the picture for good.
The entertainment
industry should not
allow their platforms
to help the tobacco
industry addict a new
generation of young
people to nicotine.
6
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
SHOWS POPULAR WITH YOUNG PEOPLE CONTINUE
TO INCLUDE TOBACCO
In the U.S., people still report watching TV shows and movies at home
as their favorite entertainment activity, according to a 2022 survey from
Deloitte. Streaming continues to rise in popularity: in July 2022, streaming
services outperformed both cable and broadcast TV for the first time, taking
34.8% of total U.S. viewership compared to cable’s 34.4% and broadcast at
21.6%.
5
A plethora of streaming video subscription services offer increasing
opportunities to stream content.
Our latest analysis of shows finds that tobacco maintains a strong presence
in shows most popular with young people. Our partners at Breathe California
Sacramento Region — a nonprofit dedicated to improving lung health in
California — analyzed and coded tobacco content in the year’s most popular
shows. In 2021, 60% (9 out of 15) of shows most popular with young people
contained tobacco imagery, showing no improvement from last year and
0 50 100 150 200 250
Riverdale
Rick & Morty
The Walking Dead
On My Block
Big Mouth
American Horror
Stories (spin off)
American
Horror Story
The Simpsons
Shameless
Top 2021 Shows with Tobacco Incidents
217
75
31
30
30
22
13
4
3
*The remaining top 15 shows “Bob’s Burgers,” “Johnny Test,” “Bunk’d,” “Looney Tunes
Cartoons,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Curious George” contained zero tobacco incidents.
SHAMELESS
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
exposing 25 million young people to shows with tobacco.
i
The 9 shows
with tobacco content among the top 15 most popular shows were
“Shameless,” “The Simpsons,” “American Horror Story,” “American Horror
Stories (spin off),” “Big Mouth,” “On My Block,” “The Walking Dead,” “Rick
and Morty,” and “Riverdale” and featured a total of 425 depictions across
all shows. [See “Methods for Show Selection and Analysis” on page 18 for
a full list of shows].
While this marks an increase in the total number of depictions compared
to 2020 — when 390 depictions appeared across the top 15 shows — one
show, “Shameless,” was the main culprit featuring significantly more
tobacco depictions than the rest. The Emmy-winning Showtime comedy
topped the list of tobacco offenders with 217 tobacco depictions in its 11
th
and final season, more than doubling depictions from its 2020 season and
including more depictions than the other top shows combined. The show
is no stranger to tobacco imagery: it has been a repeat tobacco offender
since it topped the list with 226 tobacco depictions in 2018. This year, the
show remains an outlier compared with other popular shows that have
significantly reduced tobacco depictions and imagery. “The Simpsons”
(Fox), “Big Mouth” (Netflix), and “Rick and Morty” (Adult Swim) — all
popular animated shows, which is especially concerning in terms of youth
appeal — marginally reduced their number of tobacco incidents compared
to last year but failed to eliminate the imagery entirely and continue to
expose young people to tobacco.
SHOWTIME, NETFLIX, AND FOX TOP THE LIST OF
TOBACCO DEPICTIONS BY NETWORK
“Shameless” made Showtime the streaming platform with the
most tobacco imagery, ousting previous top offender Netflix, which
demonstrated a marked decline in tobacco depictions. While Netflix was
the #2 offender this year with 157 depictions, it is notable that that number
is down dramatically from 651 in 2020. Although Netflix has significantly
reduced tobacco depictions since 2020, the platform continues to include
frequent tobacco depictions in its shows most popular with young people,
including the cartoon comedy “Big Mouth” and the TV-14-rated high school
drama “On My Block.” These popular shows continue to include tobacco
imagery despite Netflix’s 2019 pledge that it would eliminate tobacco in
future programming rated TV-14 or below and cut back on depictions
overall.
4
In 2021, FOX came in third with 97 depictions, down from 236
last year, with popular animated hits “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy”
frequently featuring tobacco.
It is important to note that other platforms can be involved in distributing
content in many ways, including by sharing current or previous seasons
of popular shows or by making individual episodes available for purchase.
For example, “Shameless,” originated by the platform Showtime, is also
THE SIMPSONS
AMERICAN HORROR STORIES (SPIN OFF)
BIG MOUTH
ON MY BLOCK
8
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
available to stream in some capacity on distributing platforms Fubo TV,
Prime Video, Roku, Netflix, Amazon Video, Vudu, Apple TV, Hulu, and Google
Play. Fox’s “The Simpsons” is also distributed on DirectTV, Fubo, FX Now,
Amazon Video, Apple TV, Vudu, Google Play, Microsoft Store, and Hulu.
Disney, which now owns Fox, also streams “The Simpsons” on Disney+, even
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
HBO
CW
Adult Swim
AMC
NBC
FX
Fox
Netflix
Showtime
Tobacco Depictions by Network, 2020 and 2021
108
217
651
157
236
97
13
13
25
4
21
3
18
2
61
0
0
0
2020 2021
“Shameless” made
Showtime the streaming
platform with the
most tobacco imagery,
ousting previous top
offender Netflix,
which demonstrated
a marked decline
in tobacco depictions.
9
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
though Disney has one of the strongest policies on tobacco imagery and
prohibits smoking in its youth-rated movies (G, PG, and PG-13). The wide
range of platforms providing access to popular shows with heavy tobacco
imagery multiplies the total audience for content well beyond its original
distributor and can vastly increase the potential impact of tobacco imagery
on young people. Platforms that choose to distribute content with tobacco
imagery play a role in magnifying youth nicotine use and need to be held
accountable.
BINGEWORTHY SHOWS CONTINUE TO DEPICT
TOBACCO IMAGERY
Young people continued to binge-watch current and older seasons
of popular shows. Binge-watching presents a continuing avenue for
significant tobacco exposure on screen and is an important behavior to
examine: watching shows in a compressed timeframe may influence the
amount and intensity of exposure. Research shows that the more exposure
a young person has to tobacco imagery, the more likely they are to vape.
3
According to a 2018 poll by Morning Consult, 73% of young adults 18-29
who use streaming services binge-watch TV — watching two or more
episodes of a show — once a week.
6
9
HBO’s “Euphoria” was frequently binge-
watched this year, with young people
watching multiple or all episodes of the
show’s previous seasons. The first season
of the show — a high school drama starring
Emmy-winning actress Zendaya — aired in
2019 and contained 312 tobacco depictions,
with tobacco imagery in every episode.
Although a full season of “Euphoria” did not air in 2021, two special episodes aired
that year, with one episode including tobacco depictions. Its second season aired
in 2022 and contained 137 tobacco depictions in seven out of eight episodes.
Although tobacco depictions may be down in the 2022 season of “Euphoria,” the
show continues to have a cultural impact. In season one, a minor background
character dubbed “Vape Girl” rocketed to popularity, known for delivering sage
advice and zippy one-liners, usually while prominently vaping. The character
remains popular during the show’s second season, achieving meme status.
8,9
High school drama “Euphoria” features heavy
nicotine use
10
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
In addition to analyzing the top 15 shows most popular with young people
in 2021, we wanted to see to what extent young people were binge-watching
older seasons of popular shows featuring heavy tobacco imagery. We asked
young people if they had binge-watched previous seasons of popular shows
we flagged as tobacco offenders in the past.
ii
We found that young people
binge-watched older seasons of nearly all top 15 most popular shows,
as well as previous seasons of other popular shows laden with tobacco
imagery including “Stranger Things,” “Family Guy,” “Criminal Minds,” “Bob’s
Burgers,” “Euphoria,” “13 Reasons Why,” and “Fuller House.”
Binge-watching previous seasons of shows with tobacco imagery reduced
progress made from declines in tobacco depictions in some 2021 top
shows. Shows like “Stranger Things,” “Family Guy,” “Euphoria,” and “The
Simpsons” may have reduced tobacco imagery in their current seasons,
but young viewers are still watching older seasons with heavy tobacco
imagery. Because seasons of shows with intense tobacco content enjoy
tremendous popularity for years after their original airing, they have the
potential to impact young people’s tobacco habits for years to come.
TOBACCO SATURATES ANIMATED SHOWS
Cartoons continue to include tobacco imagery in shows that are rated
for youth and heavily binge-watched. This year, “The Simpsons” (PG)
was the #1 most popular show with young people and had the third
highest number of tobacco depictions (75), though that was down from
95 depictions in 2020. Fox’s “Family Guy,” dropped from 100 to 22 tobacco
incidents, but both shows are still popular to binge-watch among young
people. “The Simpsons” is also available on Disney+, despite Disney’s
policy to limit tobacco in its youth-rated movies.
Fox isn’t the only offender when it comes to cartoons. “Rick and Morty”
on Adult Swim and “Big Mouth” on Netflix are repeat tobacco offenders,
although they also reduced the number of tobacco depictions. Fox’s “Bob’s
Burgers” went from 41 depictions in 2020 to zero in its latest season,
showing that it is possible to eliminate all tobacco. Although animated
shows are moving in the right direction by cutting tobacco depictions, we
encourage networks to move toward the goal of zero tobacco imagery in
content popular with youth.
VAPING IMAGERY REMAINS STEADY
This year’s analysis indicates that depictions of vaping nicotine decreased
slightly from 1.8% to 1.4% of tobacco depictions across top 15 shows but
as the research tells us, smoking imagery is driving youth vaping initiation.
One especially troubling example of e-cigarette use on screen appears
in the top 15 show “American Horror Stories” spin off, which features a
person under 18 vaping nicotine. Truth Initiative continues to monitor
vaping imagery on screens.
“Euphoria” and “Squid Game” won
Emmys in 2022, adding to the
accolades and reach of these popular
shows that heavily feature smoking
imagery. “Squid Game,” the South
Korean survival drama from Netflix
which topped the network’s list of
top 10 most-watched non-English TV
and films the week it premiered
7
and
earned actor Lee Jung-jae an Emmy
for lead actor, included 76 tobacco
depictions. Emmy-winning shows
receive more press attention, and are
hailed as culturally significant, thus
increasing the likelihood of future
seasons — all of which amplify the
negative impact of on-screen tobacco
use and smoking on young viewers.
Tobacco in
Emmy-winning
shows
11
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
NEARLY HALF OF TOP 2021 MOVIES CONTAIN
TOBACCO IMAGERY
Tobacco depictions aren’t limited to those in streaming shows. A 2012 report
issued by the Surgeon General stated that exposure to tobacco use in cinema
irrefutably leads some youth and young adults to try tobacco products.
2
An
analysis of tobacco depictions in top 2021 movies by NORC at the University
of Chicago finds that despite progress, tobacco imagery in movies continues
to be a problem.
The report finds that nearly half (47%, 53 out of 112) of top films released
in 2021 featured tobacco, exposing an estimated 25 million youth and young
adults ages 15-24 to tobacco imagery in top box office films available on
streaming. Tobacco imagery infiltrated films rated appropriate for youth once
Netflix continues to include tobacco in shows popular with young people and rated
appropriate for youth. Most young people we surveyed (64%) said that they binge-
watched multiple or all episodes of previous seasons of “Stranger Things” in 2021,
making its previous seasons the most binge-watched of past tobacco offenders
among young people in 2021.
iii
Past seasons of the show have included heavy tobacco
imagery, including 721 depictions and 261 depictions in the 2019 and 2017 seasons,
respectively.
The latest and fourth season of “Stranger Things” (rated TV-14) aired in June 2022
and included 89 tobacco depictions, despite the company’s 2019 announcement that
it would eliminate tobacco in programming rated TV-14 or below. The 2022 season
also saw controversy over its continued “TV-14” rating, with the Parent Television and
Media Council concluding that Netflix’s maturity rating for the show was inaccurate,
based on a drastic increases in violence and profanity.
Given its continued popularity, young people are continually exposed to the massive
amounts of tobacco imagery in past seasons, in addition to tobacco imagery in its 2022
season.
“Stranger Things” continues prominent
tobacco use
12
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
again, with 17 youth-rated films containing tobacco, including the PG-rated
film, “The Girl Who Believed in Miracles,” which had eight instances of
cigarette imagery. The PG-13-rated movie “The Marksman” starring Liam
Neeson topped the list of youth-rated movies with 313 tobacco incidents,
followed by “Venom: Let There be Carnage” featuring Tom Hardy and Tom
Holland with 137 incidents. “Respect,” starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha
Franklin, had 92 incidents. Youth-rated movies contained, on average, 30
tobacco depictions per film.
The 17 movies containing tobacco that were rated PG-13 or under are:
>
12 Mighty Orphans, PG-13
>
A Journal for Jordan, PG-13
>
The Courier, PG-13
>
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, PG-13
>
The Girl Who Believes in Miracles, PG
>
Here Today, PG-13
>
The Jesus Music, PG-13
>
King Richard, PG-13
>
The Marksman, PG-13
>
Minari, PG-13
>
No Time to Die, PG-13
>
Reminiscence, PG-13
>
Respect, PG-13
>
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, PG-13
>
The Unholy, PG-13
>
Venom: Let There Be Carnage, PG-13
>
West Side Story, PG-13
The top films featured a total of 2,381 instances of tobacco imagery – more
than double the number of incidents seen in 2020 films. However, 2019
statistics may be better suited for comparison because of the impact
COVID-19 had on movie production, resulting in fewer movie releases
in 2020. The movie industry has made incremental moves in the right
direction compared to 2019, with slight decreases in the percentage of
newly released movies containing tobacco (51% vs. 47%), the number of
youth-rated movies with tobacco (29 vs. 17) and the average number of
tobacco depictions per film (26 vs. 21).
VENOM
WEST SIDE STORY
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February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
Most depictions (84%) were of combustible tobacco products. Research
shows that exposure to smoking on screen is tied to youth vaping initiation,
making pervasive smoking imagery a concern. This year also saw a rise
in smokeless tobacco imagery in the PG-13 rated films “The Marksman”
and “Minari” which contained 85 and four smokeless tobacco incidents,
respectively, up from zero smokeless product images in 2020 films.
Although R-rated movies continued to have the greatest number of
tobacco depictions, average depictions per film were only slightly higher
than the 30 depictions per film average for youth-rated movies. The rising
popularity of films released through streaming services may leave ratings
unable to protect young viewers from tobacco depictions. There is no
measure to gauge the age of viewers watching via streaming services,
leaving it impossible to determine how many young people were exposed
to tobacco imagery in mature-rated films.
The report also shows that studios that are not members of the Motion
Picture Association (MPA) (e.g., TrailMaker Productions, MGM, and BRON
Studio) consistently released more youth-rated films featuring tobacco
and included more tobacco incidents per film compared to those who are a
part of the MPA (e.g., Walt Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal City, Warner
Brothers Entertainment, and Netflix). Most MPA members have written
policies to keep tobacco out of youth films. The exception is Netflix, which
says it has a policy but has yet to make it publicly available.
Tobacco imagery continues to maintain a strong presence in popular
movies, including those rated appropriate for youth. The fact remains that
tobacco imagery in movies is a serious concern and studios aren’t doing
enough to remedy the situation.
Tobacco imagery
continues to maintain
a strong presence in
popular movies, including
those rated appropriate
for youth.
14
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
TOBACCO IN MUSIC VIDEOS
Music videos provide another platform for youth exposure to tobacco,
and often portray tobacco use as edgy, glamorous, and cool. Analysis of
the top 2021 Billboard songs revealed that 12.8% (31 of 243) of songs
had 290 tobacco depictions in their music videos and were viewed over
2 billion times. “Smokin out the Window” by Anderson.Paak, Bruno Mars,
and Silk Sonic topped the list of music videos featuring tobacco imagery
with 109 incidents, followed by “El Incomprendido” by Farruko (55),
“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” by Elle King and Miranda Lambert
(27), “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd (11), and “Paralyzed” by Sueco
(10). R&B/Hip Hop videos continue to have the most tobacco depictions
(24%) of all genres, the majority of which (84%) are portrayed by people
of color. Pervasive imagery of people of color using tobacco on screen
plays a role in worsening disparities in tobacco use by populations who
have been historically targeted by the tobacco industry. More than half of
tobacco incidents (186) were of cigarettes, followed by pipes, images that
were indistinguishable as either blunts or cigars, and cigars. There was
one depiction of an e-cigarette in “Escape Plan” by Travis Scott.
Although tobacco depictions and percentage of music videos with
tobacco imagery are down from 2020 (23%, 522 depictions), we cannot
underestimate the impact of this media form on tobacco exposure,
especially given the lack of parental controls or age-gating on platforms
like YouTube and lack of data on the age of individual viewers and how
often viewers re-watch music videos.
ENDING TOBACCO IMAGERY ON SCREENS
In our fifth annual report highlighting the pervasiveness of tobacco
imagery on screens, we see progress as well as the opportunity to
do more. The current media landscape with streaming on demand on
multiple devices at any time raises the stakes of the impact of tobacco
imagery. Not only is it harder for parents to know what their children are
watching, platforms designed for binge-watching behavior potentially
expose more young people to tobacco. Until content creators and
distributors take responsibility, millions of young people will continue to
be exposed to tobacco imagery, which can triple the odds that they will
try vaping nicotine compared to peers with no exposure.
3
While some shows and platforms have made strides in reducing or
eliminating tobacco, many others that continue to depict tobacco imagery
need to catch up—and stick to their word. Following the publication of
our 2019 report, Netflix announced that it would eliminate tobacco in
youth-rated programming and cut back on depictions across the board.
4
Its specific policy is not public. Although the platform has cut back on
tobacco depictions this year and added a smoking warning label at the
beginning of certain programs, it continues to include pervasive tobacco
in its most popular shows rated appropriate for youth. Fox decreased
BRUNO MARS
POST MALONE
Some shows and networks made progress
this year by reducing or eliminating tobacco
depictions. All previous tobacco offenders
except “Shameless” and “Riverdale”
decreased the number of tobacco incidents in
their 2021 seasons, and “Bob’s Burgers” and
“All American” eliminated tobacco imagery
entirely. There were also fewer youth-rated
shows with tobacco depictions: only four of
the top 15 shows with tobacco depictions
in 2021 were rated TV-14 and below (“The
Simpsons,” “Rick and Morty,” “Riverdale,”
and “On My Block”), down from seven in
2020. It is important to note, however, that
youth-rated cartoons with tobacco imagery
like “The Simpsons” and “Rick and Morty”
are especially egregious given their format
and because their plotlines have no need for
historical accuracy.
Shows that reduced
or eliminated tobacco
15
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
its tobacco depictions compared to last year, but continues to be a top
tobacco offender with youth-appealing and frequently binge-watched
animated shows like “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy.” Meanwhile,
Showtime appears to have moved in the wrong direction, more than
doubling tobacco depictions in its popular show “Shameless,” making it
the top offender this year.
Many other platforms redistribute popular shows featuring tobacco. For
example, “The Simpsons” is broadcasted on Fox, but is also available on
at least 10 other platforms, including Disney+, even though Disney has
a strong tobacco policy for its youth-rated movies. This highlights the
limitations of policies that don’t extend to all content on a platform and
points to an overall problem with a media landscape that allows many
avenues for re-distribution of tobacco imagery. Networks can and should
do better.
The entertainment industry is facing increasing pressure from public
health groups, policymakers, and other public officials to do more. In
2019, the National Association of Attorneys General expressed concerns
about tobacco imagery in streaming content and sent letters to major
U.S. streaming services to urge the industry to implement measures
to protect young people from tobacco imagery. The letters, which 43
state and territory attorneys general signed, were sent to Amazon.com,
Apple, AT&T, CBS Corporation, Comcast Corporation, Discovery, The Walt
Disney Company, Google, Netflix, Sony, Lionsgate, Viacom and Walmart.
In October 2020, a similar contingent of attorneys general sent letters
to the writer’s guilds, asking them to persuade members of the creative
community to “depict tobacco imagery responsibly, while still supporting
artistic freedoms.” In March 2022, Senators Edward J. Markey, Chris Van
Hollen and Richard Blumenthal cited our 2021 findings in a letter to Netflix
urging the streaming giant to take steps to decrease young people’s
exposure to tobacco, nicotine, and vaping imagery in video content.
1
Following the premiere of the latest season of “Stranger Things” in June
2022, Truth Initiative sent Netflix a letter from a coalition of 13 public
health and research organizations urging the company to implement its
past pledges for youth-appealing content free of tobacco imagery. In 2022,
Truth Initiative representatives also were invited to speak with the WHO
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Secretariat to highlight
our work on tobacco imagery on screens and discuss opportunities for
collaboration.
THE WALKING DEAD
FAMILY GUY
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February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
To truly reduce youth exposure to tobacco imagery, Truth Initiative calls
for a comprehensive set of policies to curb tobacco depictions on screens,
including:
> Urging distributors to develop transparent anti-tobacco policies -
Media companies, creative guilds and show runners should create
comprehensive policies that do not support the normalization of
tobacco and make policies publicly available.
> E
nsuring that content creators are aware of these policies - Content
creators need to understand why creating popular characters like
“vape girl” have enormous detrimental impacts on youth vaping
nicotine, and why distributors need tobacco policies in place.
> Expanding education and outreach – Many stakeholders may not be
aware of the harmful and potentially deadly effects that tobacco
content can have on youth and young adults. Thus, it is important to
educate creatives in the entertainment industry, including directors,
writers and producers, as well as parents about the importance of
keeping tobacco out of shows.
> Informing actors of the power they wield when they use tobacco on
screen – Actors and actresses like Emma Stone and Colin Farrell
have lately been vocal advocates for their characters to use tobacco
on-screen. Actors rejecting smoking/vaping nicotine on screens
would be a powerful statement about the harms of tobacco use.
> Continuing anti-tobacco and anti-vaping ads – Anti-tobacco
messages have been enormously successful in reducing tobacco use
rates and should be deployed before and during shows that feature
tobacco imagery. These messages should include specific anti-
smoking and anti-vaping messages that demonstrate the harmful
effects of increasingly popular e-cigarette products.
> Implementing a robust ratings system – Designating titles with
smoking as TV-MA — designed for adults and unsuitable for those 17
and under — has the potential to reduce young people’s exposure to
tobacco. TV Parental Guidelines, which do not currently treat
tobacco as an explicit rating factor, would provide more clarity and
information for parents who seek to limit the tobacco content their
children consume. Triggering an “R” rating for movies with tobacco
could serve as a financial disincentive to movie makers, especially
given that 2022 saw the lowest percentage of box office revenue go
to R-rated films in over 25 years.
10
The entertainment
industry is facing
increasing pressure from
public health groups,
policymakers, and other
public officials to do more.
While some shows and
platforms have made
strides in reducing or
eliminating tobacco,
many others that continue
to depict tobacco imagery
need to catch up—and
stick to their word.
17
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
>
Certifying no tobacco industry payoffs – Big Tobacco has an overt
interest in the continued presence of tobacco on TV, in movies, and
in streaming content. It is essential that the film industry proves
that no parties or persons involved with a production received
anything of value in exchange for including smoking or vaping
depictions in a show.
>
Refusing website advertisements from tobacco brands or tobacco
companies – Vaping giant JUUL placed banner and video ads on
Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon-owned websites nick.com, nickjr.
com and cartoonnetwork.com. Youth-focused networks should
never accept advertising money that explicitly targets young
audiences with an addictive product, and this policy should extend
to network websites as well. Further, tobacco companies like Altria
should not place ads on streaming services with advertisements,
such as Hulu.
>
Ensuring public subsidies do not fund content with tobacco –
Content with tobacco depictions should not be eligible for local
production subsidies, including tax breaks and other incentives.
States should change their production subsidy policies to provide
tax and other incentives only for those productions that do not
promote tobacco use.
>
Continuing and expanding ongoing research – We continue to need
more information about the harmful effects of tobacco imagery.
A rigorous and ongoing monitoring of tobacco imagery, including
how it is portrayed and who is watching, is needed by reputable
non-media/tobacco industry researchers. It is critical to document
and understand the impact of streaming on youth culture and the
many ways that it can impact youth health. Media companies should
provide researchers with the raw data needed to produce valid
results (i.e., viewership data).
>
Providing resources for tobacco dependence – Much like streaming
companies do for suicide prevention, eating disorders and other
illnesses that affect youth, companies should provide static screen
shots with validated and evidence-based resources such as This is
Quitting to assist youth with nicotine dependence. Teens and young
adults can join This is Quitting for free by texting DITCHVAPE to
88709.
We continue to need
more information about
the harmful effects
of tobacco imagery.
A rigorous and ongoing
monitoring of tobacco
imagery, including how
it is portrayed and who
is watching, is needed
by reputable non-media/
tobacco industry
researchers.
18
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
APPENDIX: METHODS FOR SHOW SELECTION AND ANALYSIS
Truth Initiative researchers surveyed 2,384 young people (ages 15-24) between December 8, 2021 and February
1, 2022 to identify the top five streaming platforms: Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO. To
identify the most popular shows in 2021, researchers then surveyed 3,047 young people (ages 15-24) about
every show on each of the top five platforms if it was scripted, in English, and had a new season air in 2021.
Researchers also asked young people to select shows from a list of previous Top 15 and “binge-worthy” shows
containing tobacco whose previous seasons they had binge-watched multiple or all episodes of in the last year.
Top 2021 shows among ages 15-24,
by popularity
(*Shows contained tobacco imagery)
• The Simpsons, Season 32 (Fox)*
• Rick & Morty, Season 5 (Adult Swim)*
• Bob’s Burgers, Season 11 (Fox)
• Johnny Test, Season 1 (Netflix)
• The Walking Dead, Season 10 (AMC)*
• Bunk’d, Season 5 (Disney)
• Looney Tunes Cartoons, Season 1 (HBO Max)
• Big Mouth, Season 5 (Netflix)*
• American Horror Story, Season 10 (FX)*
• American Horror Stories (spin off), Season 1 (FX)*
• Grey’s Anatomy, Season 17 (ABC)
• Curious George, Season 14 (Peacock)
• On My Block, Season 4 (Netflix)*
• Riverdale, Season 5 (CW)*
• Shameless, Season 11 (Showtime)*
Top 2021 Binge-watched shows among
previous tobacco offenders
• Stranger Things (Netflix)
• Family Guy (Fox)
• The Simpsons (Fox)
• Rick & Morty (HBO)
• Criminal Minds (CBS)
• Bob’s Burgers (Fox)
• On My Block (Netflix)
• The Walking Dead (AMC)
• Euphoria (HBO)
• 13 Reasons Why (Netflix)
• Big Mouth (Netflix)
• Fuller House (Netflix)
• Riverdale (CW)
• All American (CW)
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
• You (Netflix)
• The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)
• A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix)
• Shameless (Showtime)
• Lucifer (Netflix)
• American Horror Story (FX)
• Law & Order SVU (NBC)
• Pretty Little Liars (Freeform/ABC Family)
• Supernatural (WB/CW)
• The End of the F***king World (Netflix)
Reviewing shows for tobacco:
The research team at Breathe California viewed 460 episodes and over 850 hours of programming to
document tobacco depictions, counting images of tobacco products as they appeared on screen. Scenes
that included numerous tobacco images in powerwall and other similar scenes that pictured a large
display of tobacco products were counted as one instance of tobacco imagery. Researchers coded shows
from the top 2021 shows as well as binge-worthy shows that were previous tobacco offenders for the
presence of tobacco. Truth Initiative would once again like to thank the team of student and staff coders at
Breathe California for the hours of work that made this report possible.
February 2023 WHILE YOU WERE STREAMING 2022
900 G Street, NW
Fourth Floor
Washington, DC 20001
202.454.5555
truthinitiative.org
@
truthinitiative
REFERENCES
1 Senators Markey, Van Hollen & Blumenthal push Netflix on tobacco, nicotine, and vaping imagery
for young people. https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-
van-hollen-and-blumenthal-push-netflix-on-tobacco-nicotine-and-vaping-imagery-for-young-
people#:~:text=Netflix%20responded%20to%20the%20Senators,accuracy%2C%20or%20to%20
convey%20an. Published 2022. Accessed August 16, 2022.
2 Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: a report of the Surgeon General Washington,
D.C. : U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and
Health;2012.
3 Bennett M, Hair EC, Liu M, et al. Exposure to tobacco content in episodic programs and tobacco and
E-cigarette initiation. Preventive Medicine. 2020;139:106169.
4 Romo V. Netflix Promises To Quit Smoking On (Most) Original Programming. NPR. https://www.
npr.org/2019/07/04/738719658/netflix-promises-to-quit-smoking-on-most-original-programming.
Published 2019. Accessed September 24, 2019.
5 Davis W. Streaming outperforms both cable and broadcast TV for the first time ever. NPR. https://
www.npr.org/2022/08/18/1118203023/streaming-cable-broadcast-tv. Published 2022. Accessed
August 19, 2022.
6 Sabin S. Most Young Adults Have an Appetite for Binge-Watching Shows. Morning Consult. https://
morningconsult.com/2018/11/06/most-young-adults-have-an-appetite-for-binge-watching-shows/.
Published 2018. Accessed August 19, 2022.
7 Global Top 10 - Weekly Top 10 lists of the most-watched TV and films. Netflix. https://top10.netflix.
com/tv-non-english?week=2021-09-19. Accessed August 19, 2022.
8 Know Your Meme - Vape Girl. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/vape-girl. Accessed August 24,
2022.
9 Ermac R. Ranking the Side Characters of ‘Euphoria’ Season 2. https://www.out.com/
television/2022/2/20/ranking-euphoria-season-2-minor-side-characters#media-gallery-media-5.
Published 2022. Updated February 20, 2022. Accessed August 24, 2022.
10 Fischer S. R-rated genre struggling at the box office. https://www.axios.com/2022/08/16/r-rate-
movies-box-office?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_
axiospm&stream=top. Updated August 16, 2022. Accessed August 24, 2022.
i To estimate exposure to tobacco imagery in these shows, the percent of youth and young adults in the
U.S. who reported watching an entire season of at least one program that included at least one tobacco
occurrence (57%) was multiplied by the total population of 15-to 24-year-olds from the U.S. Census.
ii Researchers surveyed young people between ages 15-24 to select previous seasons from a list of the
previous Top 15 and “Binge-worthy” shows containing tobacco that they had binge-watched multiple or
all episodes of in the last year. [See “Methods for Show Selection and Analysis” on page 18 for a full list
of shows]
iii Researchers surveyed asked young people between the ages 15-24 to select previous seasons from a list
of the Top 15 and “binge-worthy” shows containing tobacco that they had binge-watched in the last year.
iv To come up with a gross estimate of exposure to tobacco in streaming movies, researchers multiplied
the proportion of survey respondents who saw at least one film containing tobacco in streaming films
in 2021 (approximately 64%) by the population of 15-24-year-olds living in the U.S. according to 2020
American Community Survey five-year population estimates. Top box office films in theaters in 2021
exposed an estimated 146 million youth and adults to tobacco imagery, estimated using national
average for ticket price and box office revenue data for films containing any tobacco. Youth viewership
of on-screen tobacco in theaters could not be calculated due to lack of age data on ticket purchases.
