The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a government agency, has listed cigarettes in movies as a key factor in teen smoking. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences has said that studies show a clear link showing that kids who watch movies with smoking are more likely to smoke.

So, it is a small step forward that the CDCP announced last Thursday that scenes of smoking in high-grossing films fell to 1,935 incidents last year, down 49% from the recent peak of 3,967 in 2005.
This may in part be the result of a change in 2007 that includes smoking incidence in MPAA ratings, following four years of requests from state attorneys general and other groups. The MPAA has refused, however, to make smoking an automatic R-rating, even with an exclusion for historical accuracy in films like “Good Night and Good Luck.” “On April 22, 2009, the MPAA interrupted North Carolina Senate debate on landmark smokefree workplace legislation to demand a loophole for smoking in film productions. ‘The motion picture industry worries the bill would prevent actors from smoking on screen,’ reported the Associated Press,” according to Smoke Free Movies. They were successful in getting an exemption written into the law.
A significant factor in reduced smoking onscreen may also be pressure from websites that specifically review smoking in movies. Smoke Free Movies, a project of Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, has a directory of actors with more than three smoking roles. Scene Smoking from Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails, shows how smoking is shown in films, classifying it by whether it is the lead actor, a credited non-star, or an extra, whether the brand is shown, and whether the smoker is a good guy or a bad guy.

From blog.beliefnet.com, August 23, 2010

Pregnant women and new mothers in Canada’s North who are trying to quit smoking could get help from their elders and community health workers under a $350,000 federal project. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced the funding on Monday, World No Tobacco Day, to bring the anti-smoking program to four Inuit regions across Canada. The information campaign aims to:

• Train community health workers to deliver the program.
• Engage elders to monitor participating expectant women and new mothers.
• Raise awareness of the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.
• Increase the number of smoke-free homes in Inuit communities.

The recent Inuit child health survey suggested more than 80 per cent of Inuit women in Nunavut smoke during pregnancy, national Inuit leader Mary Simon of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami noted in a speech.

“This day is not about casting judgment on smokers,” Simon said on the ITK website. “It is about providing the tools that Inuit need to take control of their health and their lives.”

Smoke-free home

When a pregnant woman smokes, the fetus gets less oxygen and nutrients. Smoking during pregnancy is a known risk factor for other health problems for the baby, including low birth weight and respiratory problems.

In a second project called the Blue Light Campaign, families will get a blue light bulb to install on their porch to signal the family has committed to smoking outdoors or to quitting altogether.

Both programs have been successfully implemented in several Nunatsiavut and Nunavik communities, and will now be extended to other communities, Simon said.

According to Statistics Canada, 58 per cent of Inuit adults surveyed between October 2006 and March 2007 smoked every day, compared with 17 per cent among all adults in Canada.

This year’s theme of the World Health Organization’s awareness day is “gender and tobacco, with an emphasis on marketing to women.”

As part of its anti-smoking efforts, the European Union signalled Monday it may soon require cigarette packages to show graphic photos of diseased organs and carry larger health warnings.

Almost 40 nations currently require or will soon require photos showing the harmful effects of smoking on tobacco packaging.