In the week leading up to the 80th Annual Academy Awards, Feb. 24, public health groups and agencies from New York and Los Angeles to Liverpool and Sydney will be raising awareness of “toxic movies.” Global policy initiatives and grassroots mobilizations aim to stop movies pushing tobacco. For more information about tobacco in Hollywood, the evidence of harm, and the widely

endorsed policy solutions, visit www.smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu.

DEFINING INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF ACTION:

Smoke Free Movies International Week of Action is part of a global movement of more than 15 countries on four continents to raise awareness of “toxic movies.”

WHAT ARE TOXIC MOVIES?

Hollywood movies deliver tobacco impressions estimated in the billions to young audiences annually around the world. Every time a young person views tobacco use or brand imagery in a movie, it can create devastating “toxic” effects on their health. In the U.S. alone, the depiction of

smoking in movies recruits nearly 400,000 new teen smokers each year. Similar effects have been seen in other countries from Mexico to Germany and New Zealand.