Tobacco use has dropped in the U.S. over the last decade, but depictions of smoking in popular moves—especially those rated PG-13—is way up. That’s according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which notes that smoking in films is tied to young people trying tobacco. The CDC says that while the percentage of films that show or imply tobacco use has been stable since 2010, the number of “tobacco incidents” in top-grossing movies is up 57 percent overall and 120 percent in PG-13 movies, especially biographical dramas. “All major motion picture companies have policies to reduce tobacco depictions in youth-rated movies; however, Disney and Viacom were the only companies with no tobacco use in youth-rated movies in 2018,” the CDC said.
