The public

National surveys in the US from 2004 through 2006 found a high level of concern among the public about the effects of smoking in the movies on adolescents, and strong support for modernizing the ratings system to rate movies with smoking “R.” In 2006, 80.7% of adults (79.1% of parents) agreed that adolescents are more likely to smoke if they watch actors who smoke in movies. In addition, 70.2% of adults (67.5% of parents) believed that movies with smoking should be rated “R,” up about 10% over previous years.

By 2013, as public attention to the issue of tobacco imagery in movies waned, support for evidence-based solutions to onscreen smoking also eroded. Although the majority of adults continue to agree that adolescents are more likely to smoke if they watch actors who smoke in movies, fewer than half supported modernizing the ratings system to rate movies with smoking “R.” These results indicate the need for renewed public engagement of the issues around onscreen smoking. 
 

North of the US border, in 2013 a majority (52%) of Canadians living in Ontario supported an "R" rating for smoking, and by 2016 eight in ten supported not allowing smoking in movies that are rated G, PG, or 14A (80%), not allowing tobacco logos in movie scenes, as well as requiring anti-smoking ads before any film with smoking in it (79% each). Two thirds (67%) supported changing movie ratings so that movies with smoking would receive an 18A rating.  Support in Ontario continued to remain high in 2018, reflecting continuing engagement on the issue by health advocates in Ontario.