UK tobacco advertising and promotion act in movies
Under the terms of the UK Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act, tobacco advertising in the print media, on billboards and in direct mail ended in 2003, and sponsorship of sport ended in July 2005. However, movies remain an important channel through which young people in the United Kingdom are still regularly exposed to pro-tobacco imagery.
The UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Nottingham was commissioned to estimate the number of tobacco impressions delivered by films in the United Kingdom accessible to young people. Merging historical, publicly available box office data and tobacco incidence data for US-, UK-, and India-origin films released widely in UK theatres, researchers found that films rated for young people (below an “18” rating) delivered nearly 90% of tobacco impressions in the United Kingdom. Films in the United Kingdom are classified by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), an independent, nongovernmental body that was set up by the film industry in 1912 to bring a degree of uniformity to the national classification of film.
The BBFC classifies films on behalf of the local authorities who license films for showing in local cinemas. Significantly, the BBFC ratings are only advisory to local councils. Statutory powers on film remain with the local councils, which may overrule any of the Board’s decisions, passing films it rejects, rejecting films it has passed, and even waiving cuts, instituting new ones or altering categories for films exhibited under their own licensing jurisdiction. While local councils have generally followed the BBFC advice, there are many examples where local authorities have not.
Current BBFC criteria for movies to receive an “18” rating (similar to a US “R” rating) are as follow: …where material or treatment appears to the Board to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society – e.g. any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which is likely to promote the activity. Concerned about the scientific evidence linking onscreen smoking to youth smoking initiation, and believing that the BBFC should be applying its existing classification rules to include smoking, a group of public health and community groups in Liverpool, collectively called SmokeFree Liverpool, has taken a leading role in addressing this issue. The coalition, comprising 10 health care agencies, public bodies, NGOs and private philanthropies in northwest England, is advocating that local authorities exercise their licensing authority to apply an “18” rating to films with smoking shown in Liverpool. SmokeFree Liverpool asserts that the existing BBFC criteria already contain sufficient language to justify this rating for movies that contain smoking.
The strategy developed by public health experts in the SmokeFree Liverpool network is to document the scope of the challenge, build national and international alliances and mobilize young people to press for ratings change within the UK film industry, both to protect young people and to influence film industry practices elsewhere. Early in the process, SmokeFree Liverpool and its local partners embarked on a series of briefings and consultations with regional and national partners to share information, gather endorsements and plan strategy.
Liverpool sponsored the first international conference on smoke-free movies in February 2008, welcoming representatives from the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States to discuss the role of youth movements (such as Liverpool’s DMYST and New York’s Reality Check) in community education and advocacy, the place of smoke-free movies on national prevention agendas and the global dimensions of smokefree movie policy solutions. After the BBFC turned down a request from DMYST youth that tobacco imagery earn new films an “18” rating, SmokeFree Liverpool began exploring the feasibility of an “18” rating in their own jurisdiction. Through these actions, SmokeFree Liverpool aims both to protect their communities and to influence the practices of film producers and distributors (the majority of which, in the United Kingdom, are US controlled) by exercising their right to override the national ratings. As a major export country for US films, these actions in the United Kingdom would have important implications for US film distributors and would likely create an incentive for more youth-marketed movies to be smoke-free.
SmokeFree Liverpool has recognized the importance of communicating clearly to the public and stakeholders the rationale and benefits of the policy, countering any disinformation that arises and preparing a broad base of public understanding and support. This strategy gained momentum since an announcement in July 2008 by the British Medical Association (BMA) that it recommends that the BBFC take smoking “into consideration” when classifying films. Endorsement from the BMA immediately heightened public awareness of the need to act on smoking imagery in the movies at the local level. Accordingly, SmokeFree Liverpool implemented a communications plan to advocate for the initiative. The elements of this strategy include:
• raising awareness of the issue among the general public through media relations activity, paid-for outdoor advertising and road shows;
• demonstrating support for the measures by canvassing local people and collecting signatures for presentation to the BBFC and the local Council;
• supporting activities of Liverpool’s tobacco control youth group, D-MYST, who will rally their peers and speak out on the tobacco industry manipulation of young people;
• producing fact sheets and paid-for open letters (national and local) calling on the BBFC to give an “18” rating to new films with smoking, and warning of possible local Council action; and
• preparing the case for presentation to the Liverpool City Council if the BBFC (national) approach is unsuccessful.
