Toronto, Ontario Apr 22, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - As members of the Ontario Coalition for Smoke-Free Movies, the Canadian Cancer Society, Heart & Stroke Ontario, and the Lung Health Foundation are raising concerns that the new Film Content Information Act weakens the protections against youth exposure to tobacco in movies exhibited in Ontario.
The new Act, scheduled to come into effect June 2021, removes the requirement for films exhibited in Ontario to obtain a rating classification, replacing it instead with a content information system. Theatres will have discretion over what information they will display and how it will appear: there are no similar requirements for filmmakers or distributors. While tobacco imagery is listed as an example of the type of information that may be displayed, it is not mandatory under the Act.
"Movies are incredibly powerful vehicles for stories and narratives that impact how we see ourselves, each other, and the world around us," says Dr. Shawn O'Connor, Senior Research Associate at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. "Unfortunately, research has made clear that imagery in movies depicting tobacco use also has that power."
Tobacco imagery in movies has been shown to be a major cause of smoking initiation among adolescents by many leading health experts including the World Health Organization, the US National Cancer Institute, and the British Medical Association. Despite this, films marketed toward children and adolescents continue to make up a significant proportion of all films depicting tobacco use.
Fifty-four percent of the 2,400 top-grossing movies released in Ontario from 2002 to 2018 featured tobacco, 87% of which had a rating of 14A or below. The former Ontario Film Review Board was already failing to provide adequate information about smoking in movies, and without strong regulations, the Film Content Information Act removes any incentive for production companies and movie theatres to prevent children from being exposed to tobacco imagery.
Content warnings, without conveying the harmful effect of a film's smoking imagery on children and adolescents, are not an effective deterrent. With no guidelines mandating what information is required and how it should be communicated, it is left to individual theatres to decide whether to provide these warnings and how they will be displayed. This will lead to inconsistency from theatre to theatre, making it harder for parents to determine what content is safe for their children. Further, there are no requirements that online film advertising contains this information.
This change may have a detrimental effect on the health of our youth, as more exposure to tobacco makes them more likely to pick up smoking as they get older.
The Coalition is hoping that the Ontario government will implement regulations to strengthen and standardize the information that will be required to be displayed at theatres, to minimize the incidence of tobacco exposure to children.
Companies like Netflix and Disney+ have implemented a warning system to indicate tobacco use, and the Ontario Coalition for Smoke-Free Movies commends Netflix's commitment to cut back on smoking in its original shows. (NOTE: Their warning systems are minimal and do not convey any information about the actual impact on kids of seeing smoking on screen). Both companies must strengthen these warnings, and all platforms streaming in Canada should follow suit, but as there is no requirement for streaming platforms to provide warnings or ratings, this will only happen through voluntary measures on the part of these services.
The Ontario Coalition for Smoke-Free Movies also encourages all who work on- and off-screen to consider whether or not depictions of tobacco use are necessary to the story they are telling, given the power and influence these images have on children and youth.
"We know that the film industry, like every other industry, is facing challenges because of the pandemic, but we also know that media consumption is at an all-time high as people are stuck at home," says Daniel Nowoselski, Senior Advocacy Coordinator for the Canadian Cancer Society. "We are calling on the provincial government and the North American film industry specifically to do everything they can to keep our children safe from the effects of tobacco exposure in the content we all love."
For more information, visit https://smokefreemovies.ca/
About the Ontario Coalition for Smoke-Free Movies
The Ontario Coalition for Smoke-Free Movies brings together concerned health organizations and over 40 endorsing organizations. The Coalition aims to raise awareness about the impact of depictions of smoking in films. The Coalition has been working for many years to educate parents on how to protect their children from tobacco imagery in movies and how to speak to their children about the dangers of tobacco use. It is hoped that policy options can be implemented to protect young people in Ontario from the dangers of viewing on-screen smoking and vaping.
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