WHO issues updated report on smoking in movies

The WHO has issued an updated version of its report, "Smoke-free Movies: From Evidence to Action."  This report updates the science (and had the benefit of advance copies of the recent research from Europe as well as knowledge of Simon Chapman's position), reviews the state of policy making around the world, and directlt  addresses the new issue of government subsidies to films with smoking. 

Here is what the report says about these subsidies: "These subsidies indirectly promote tobacco use through media, and therefore are counter to WHO FCTC Article 13 and its guidelines."  This is a particularly important conclusion in light of the fact that the EU has opened a public consultation on the issue of film subsidies and the EU is a party to the FCTC.  So is Canada, another FCTC party, where advocates are raising the issue of subsidies to films with smoking.

Here is how the WHO describes the new report on its web site (I added the bold):

WHO releases the second edition of the smoke-free movies report. It underlines the fact that, in some countries, many of the youth-rated films that contain tobacco imagery are the recipients of significant government production subsidies.

WHO calls for enforceable policies to restrict smoking in movies, including the end of public subsidies for the production of movies with smoking. Like the previous edition, the report reminds Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) that they are required to implement a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship according to Article 13 of the treaty. The guidelines for implementation of Article 13 recognize that the depiction of tobacco in films is a form of tobacco promotion that can strongly influence tobacco use, particularly among young people. The report, in line with these WHO FCTC guidelines, therefore recommends a set of specific measures to limit movie smoking such as receiving adult ratings and that movie studios:

• certify that they received no payoffs from tobacco companies to display tobacco products or their use
• stop displaying tobacco brands onscreen
• require strong anti-tobacco advertisements before all movies that have tobacco imagery

The full report is available for free at http://www.who.int/tobacco/publications/marketing/smoke_free_movies_2nd_edition/en/index.html