Which Canadian Movies Are the “Smokiest”?

This isn’t a new phenomenon. The Ontario Tobacco Research Unit (OTRU) has been tracking this issue for years. Their research shows that for the period of 2004–2016, the problem was already severe. Researchers found that Ontario youth had unrestricted access to 64% more movies with smoking than their U.S. counterparts, leading to substantially greater potential for exposure [citation:3].

This trend appears to be worsening. Jacques Gauthier, Director General of the Conseil québécois sur le tabac et la santé (CQTS), noted that “nearly 80% of films nominated for the Oscars had a presence of tobacco,” highlighting the prevalence of smoking even in critically acclaimed, high-profile films [citation:5].

• 📈 Rising Trend: After a period of decline, smoking in movies is on the rise again, coinciding with an increase in smoking rates among young adults aged 18–34 [citation:1][citation:5].
• 🎯 The Loophole: While tobacco advertising is banned in Canada, product placement in films remains a major loophole, allowing the industry to glamorize smoking to a captive audience [citation:4].
• 💸 The Cost: Based on CDC models, OTRU projects that at least 185,000 children and teens in Ontario will start smoking due to exposure to on-screen smoking, leading to at least $1.1 billion in healthcare costs [citation:3].

Perhaps the most alarming finding is that the majority of movies containing smoking are not rated for adults only. Instead, they are rated as acceptable for youth, creating a massive public health concern [citation:6].

• 📊 The Numbers: Since 2002, Adult Accompaniment (AA) or 14A rated movies have delivered 5.7 billion tobacco images to Ontario moviegoers — three times as many as 18A or R-rated movies delivered in the same period [citation:9].
• 🇨🇦 Canada vs. US: Most movies rated “R” in the U.S. (prohibited for under-18s) are rated acceptable for youth by the Ontario Film Review Board. These movies are more likely to contain smoking, making the problem worse in Canada [citation:6].
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Public Support for Change: According to an Ipsos poll, 78% of Ontarians support not allowing smoking in movies rated G, PG, and 14A — an increase from 73% in 2011 [citation:6].

A growing body of research supports the conclusion that exposure to tobacco use in movies encourages youth to smoke [citation:1][citation:4].

• 🧠 The Psychology: Smoking in films is often linked with glamour, wealth, toughness, and independence — images that have a high level of appeal to youth, and that serve to make smoking attractive [citation:4].
• 📈 The Data: Studies have shown that youth who have a favourite actor who smokes on-screen are more likely to smoke, and that youth with higher levels of exposure to movie smoking exhibit increased levels of smoking experimentation, after controlling for other risk factors [citation:4].
• 📉 The Trend: The rise in on-screen smoking is coinciding with a reversal in the long-term decline of smoking rates. The proportion of smokers among 18–34 year olds has increased from 4.8% to 5.4% in just one year [citation:5].