The first female actress who was filmed smoking was Mary Pickford in the 1911 movie, "The Dream".
It was positively scandalous! The public loved scandalous and it wasn't a big leap from 'scandalous' to 'cool'.
Nobody could or would ever accuse the movie industry of not taking full advantage of a 'cool' thing.
If the public eats 'it' up...
whatever 'it' is...
the movies will crank it out.
Smoking was still considered 'scandalous' for women until the 1950's.
"Nice" girls simply did not smoke but they sure loved the "cool" guys who did.
Remember "Joe Cool" and "The Marlboro Man"? Celebrities smoked...
they smoked on-screen and off, on stage and off.
They smoked in private as well as in public.
They not only smoked but lent their names to tobacco companies to help sell the products.
The tobacco companies paid mega bucks to have their cigarettes smoked in movies just a few years ago.
For example, the producers of A License to Kill, a James Bond movie, accepted a payment of $350,000 to have Bond smoke Larks in the movie.
In Super Man II, Lois Lane is seen chain smoking Marlboros but Phillip Morris paid only a pittance to get their brand into the movie...
$40,000.
The idea of getting celebrities to smoke and promote certain brands was, of course, to make smoking "cool" and it worked.
Smoking reached its peak of 'coolness' in America somewhere around 1964.
Since then the 'coolness' factor of cigarette smoking has been on the decline and when the coolness factor cools off (pun intended) there is a natural decline in the number of young first time smokers.
Young people emulate their idols.
The folks who make the movies know this.
Parents should know this.
The tobacco companies certainly know it! They've counted on the fact for years.
Smoking is on the decline but don't ever make the mistake of thinking that big tobacco has given up, packed up their tents and slipped away into the night.
The big tobacco companies are not gone.
They're still there and they still want your kids to take up the habit of smoking.
Make sure your kids are not being convinced that smoking is STILL cool! It's NOT cool.
Smoking is deadly!
It was positively scandalous! The public loved scandalous and it wasn't a big leap from 'scandalous' to 'cool'.
Nobody could or would ever accuse the movie industry of not taking full advantage of a 'cool' thing.
If the public eats 'it' up...
whatever 'it' is...
the movies will crank it out.
Smoking was still considered 'scandalous' for women until the 1950's.
"Nice" girls simply did not smoke but they sure loved the "cool" guys who did.
Remember "Joe Cool" and "The Marlboro Man"? Celebrities smoked...
they smoked on-screen and off, on stage and off.
They smoked in private as well as in public.
They not only smoked but lent their names to tobacco companies to help sell the products.
The tobacco companies paid mega bucks to have their cigarettes smoked in movies just a few years ago.
For example, the producers of A License to Kill, a James Bond movie, accepted a payment of $350,000 to have Bond smoke Larks in the movie.
In Super Man II, Lois Lane is seen chain smoking Marlboros but Phillip Morris paid only a pittance to get their brand into the movie...
$40,000.
The idea of getting celebrities to smoke and promote certain brands was, of course, to make smoking "cool" and it worked.
Smoking reached its peak of 'coolness' in America somewhere around 1964.
Since then the 'coolness' factor of cigarette smoking has been on the decline and when the coolness factor cools off (pun intended) there is a natural decline in the number of young first time smokers.
Young people emulate their idols.
The folks who make the movies know this.
Parents should know this.
The tobacco companies certainly know it! They've counted on the fact for years.
Smoking is on the decline but don't ever make the mistake of thinking that big tobacco has given up, packed up their tents and slipped away into the night.
The big tobacco companies are not gone.
They're still there and they still want your kids to take up the habit of smoking.
Make sure your kids are not being convinced that smoking is STILL cool! It's NOT cool.
Smoking is deadly!