Slight of Anti-Smoking Film Leaves a Participant Fuming

In today’s media-driven culture, it is often challenging to find that singular spot of shade from the flashing brightness of cameras and television spotlights. Hungry for controversy or just documenting the various hues of limelight, media coverage spreads far and wide, hardly leaving a celebrity-tinged stone unturned. But in the case of one particular issue--on-screen portrayal of tobacco use--few are lining up to walk or line the red carpet.

At the recent premiere of STARS’ “Scene Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema and the Myth of Cool,” the press was noticeably absent.

STARS stands for Seeking Tobacco Alternatives With Realistic Solutions and is an American Lung Assn. (Sacramento and Los Angeles) project that seeks to engage Hollywood in a dialogue about on-screen tobacco depiction. It is funded by Proposition 99, California’s voter-approved anti-smoking initiative.

“Scene Smoking” is a new documentary that features entertainment industry leaders debating social responsibility versus First Amendment rights as it relates to smoking in the movies. Both sides receive equal time in this important film, leaving the audience to draw its own conclusions.

In addition to my own interview, the STARS film features Sean Penn, Michael Crichton, Ted Danson, Rob Reiner, Richard Donner, Jason Patric and many more top-tier members of the entertainment community.

At the premiere, despite an audience of more than 500 members of the entertainment industry, seats reserved for The Times, local news stations and various entertainment television shows sadly remained empty. At least one entertainment television program representative stated that the issue at hand was not “sexy” or “glamorous” enough for coverage that sells.

It’s true. Smoking, lung cancer and tobacco-related deaths aren’t very sexy. I personally can’t recall the last time I considered yellow teeth or premature, painful death glamorous. Yet many actors don’t hesitate to light up on the screen, consciously wielding and subconsciously promoting this killer-addictive prop.

Imagine if a character committed suicided in nine out of 10 films. The pages of the papers, as well as everyone from “Extra” to “Entertainment Tonight,” would most likely (one hopes) be condemning such absurdity. But, unfortunately, conformity rules this media game and few stars are willing to step up to bat and be “un-sexy” by refusing to smoke on screen, or at least lend an opinion.

What we need to consider is the fact children and teenagers are stating that yes, these films and their stars are encouraging them to smoke, that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in this country, and that this is an issue that deserves greater awareness and a much louder voice. With this echoing in our ears, it is time for all of us, on- and off-screen, to “act” accordingly.