SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A California movie awards show this weekend brings out the stars who highlight the issue that Hollywood can still hook kids on tobacco.
The stars at this Feb. 21 red-carpet gala were more than 40 teen volunteers at the 20th Annual Hackademy Awards, produced by Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails through its Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down! program.
Reviewers analyzed 128 movies during 2014 for portrayals, if any, of tobacco use. About half were PG and PG-13 movies. And some, such as Thumbs Up! Winner “The Fault in Our Stars,” accurately depicted tobacco use as a deadly health threat.
Reviewers found more tobacco-free movies compared to 2013, when 45 percent of reviewed movies didn’t include smoking or cigar use. That number rose to 57 percent in 2014.
Past studies that document this link include multiple studies demonstrating that many young adults who try smoking do so because of exposure to tobacco use through movies. An example is the winner of the dubious Thumbs Down! Hackademy Award, “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” where Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine character smokes a cigar, continuing the stale myth of smoking as cool.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Thumbs Up! Award winning “The Fault in Our Stars” featured actor Ansel Elgort’s character using an unlit cigarette as a metaphor for his ability to fight back against cancer.
Elgort’s co-star in “The Fault in Our Stars,” Shailene Woodley, was also named the 2014 Thumbs Up! Actress. In other actor categories:
- Logan Lerman for Thumbs Up! Actor. His character in the World War II action movie “Fury” identifies himself as a non-smoker;
- Rosamund Pike as Thumbs Down! Actress, for smoking as a lead character in “Gone Girl”; and
- A resounding Thumbs Down! Actor award for Bill Murray in “St. Vincent” by unanimous vote.
The Hackademy Awards are made possible by generous sponsors, including CVS Pharmacy. Additionally, research behind the Hackademy Awards was funded by Legacy, which helps people live longer, healthier lives by building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit.
Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails promotes clean air, healthy lungs and a tobacco-free tomorrow. For more information, visit www.sacbreathe.org.