Why are actors smoking in movies and tv shows?
Even if they are using fake cigarettes that smoke can't be healthy to inhale, right?
Even if they are using fake cigarettes that smoke can't be healthy to inhale, right?
They usually smoke nicotine-free herbal cigarettes. I don't know the long term affects but definitely better than regular cigarettes.
I think it could be considered dedication to their work, especially when you consider they usually have to film a scene several times. Cillian Murphy probably went through thousands of them when filming Peaky Blinders. Lol
From that wiki page:
Research shows that herbal cigarettes compared with regular cigarettes can be just as harmful in terms of the carcinogens they contain.
Campfire smoke is worse for you than cigarette smoke, the problem is the consistent exposure to the cigarette smoke through becoming addicted.
I’m assuming the benefit is they’re not addictive so you won’t end up smoking packs a day for years.
Anything that says nicotine is as addictive as fucking morphine is bullshit. Your chart doesn't even have a source on top of it. Also, am I reading this correctly that weed has a very low lethal dose? As in not much of it will kill you? Who did this study? Some christian mother?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30061507/
Implication: Tobacco products are likely more dependence forming than NR products and coffee although there might be more people dependent on caffeine. The addiction to coffee or caffeine is seldom discussed in the society probably because of the little or no harm it causes.
NR = nicotine Replacement.
Tobacco is hard to quit because of the habit forming part of it, not the nicotine.
I've been smoking cigars/pipe tobacco for over a decade now. I literally will just stop smoking usually in the summer when it's to hot outside. I don't have any urge to smoke, in fact it's the opposite because of the heat it makes me not want to smoke.
So no nicotine is not this super addictive substance that the anti-tobacco groups love to portray it as, it sure as fuck isn't as addictive as fucking morphine or more addictive than fucking cocaine...like holy shit really?
Also, am I reading this correctly that weed has a very low lethal dose? As in not much of it will kill you?
No, you are not reading that correctly. It's a ratio derived from the amount needed to achieve desired effects vs the amount that can kill you, so the higher the number the more dangerous it is.
So this chart states that marijuana is pretty safe, in fact if you just looked at the other drugs on the chart you probably could've figured out you weren't reading it correctly.
I’m in the same boat as you, cigars and pipe tobacco occasionally. Definitely never felt addicted. That said, I thought cigarettes had extra nicotine in them so they’re more addictive? That’s not based on anything but seems like something tobacco companies would do.
I am relatively certain that "adding nicotine" is a myth, at least in the way people think. They definitely did experiment with using tobacco that has higher nicotine content and they also put additives in it to help it burn more quickly delivering the nicotine more quickly.
But overall, cigarette manufacturers would actually prefer you to get less nicotine than you are used to. "Light cigarettes" was absolutely genius for big tobacco. All they did was allow more air to enter the filters, so less smoke and nicotine entered the body. People smoking "Light cigarettes" assumed they were healthier, so they could smoke more of them... which was perfect because you needed to smoke more to get the same amount of nicotine. However all of that can be subverted simply by slightly wetting the outside of the filter, or by hooking your finger around most of it and blocking it.
Unfortunately because of the way lungs work, adding a little bit more air into the smoke mix has a negligible impact on harm to the lungs. So it just meant lungs ended up being exposed to smoke for a longer period of time, on average.
As the dude below me says, cigs have way less nicotine than cigars or pipe tobacco. Snus/dip has probably the most, then cigars/pipe tobacco then snuff, then cigs. I don't know how many cig smokers I've handed a cigar and they put it down 1/4 way in, and say they're dizzy.
Yes, there's no reason to enjoy life...lol
I smoke cigars/pipe tobacco, but I don't drink or have caffeine, it's a vice and it makes my life better. If you want to save people, get them to stop eating and being morbidly obese...it's the #1 killer in the USA now.
I fully agree that people should stop eating the way they do. Again, that doesn't make one thing more or less healthy.
To frame your argument in another example: is ok to drive without a seatbelt if you aren't going over the speed limit.
The issue isn't that driving without a seatbelt is only unsafe while speed. They are both safety issues independent from each other.
Again...vices exist. People do drugs, let them, people over eat...let them...but don't whine when someone else likes a different vice.
So what? They're smoking those so that they don't get addicted to nicotine. Smoking 1 pack of cigarettes in a day is not that bad for you. Doing it every day for 30 years is a death sentence.
Yeah and it's noticeable that in movies that take place in modern times have less and less smoking all the time, which accurately reflects the real world drop in smoking.
Most smoking in movies you see today are either
A) Historical, when smoking was practically ubiquitous
B) Part of the character they're playing. If you're playing someone who is generally super unhealthy, or makes bad decisions, or is otherwise in a bad mental place, smoking can help present those negative characteristics to the viewer
Good thing the labour union comes to the rescue.
SAG-AFTRA has strict guidelines about the use of cigarettes on set. Auditions must state whether smoking is required, and every employment contract includes a section that indicates whether an actor will be working in any kind of environment with smoke, including the artificial kind. Union contracts guarantee actors additional daily compensation for working with smoke. Producers must also provide every performer working around prop cigarettes with a Material Safety Data Sheet. Because of these regulations, many productions use prop cigarettes and prop smoke to create the illusion of real smoking.
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/do-actors-really-smoke-75370/
Here's my theory that is based on no research whatsoever:
Cigarette companies used to pay to have characters smoke in movies and TV shows. This would cultivate a social acceptance and "cool factor" around smoking. During the 80s and 90s, this practice came under fire and smoking in movies and TV dramatically dropped to the point of almost being non-existent.
Then time passed, vaping became popular, and people stopped caring about the impact of normalizing or even glorifying smoking. So the practice of paying studios to have characters smoke started to return. Nobody said anything, so it is becoming common place again.
It doesn't matter if it is unhealthy, it is profitable.
People indulge constantly in things that are unhealthy for us. It’s basically our favorite shit.
Within reason and as long as they’re not hurting anybody, try not to judge too much. Everyone has different lived experiences and find their own ways to cope.
As for movies.. if you’re shooting a historical film of any kind, it would be silly to pretend people weren’t smoking then. There are also characters in every genre that are just written as smokers. We’re human and imperfect, and stories include imperfect people.
As for the actors themselves.. they use some kind of herb cigarette that doesn’t include nicotine. Actors can usually hold the smoke in their mouths and not inhale, which makes them much less harmful.
And even if none of that were true and they’re just lighting up real cigarettes, money. Actors get paid, and unless the actor is smoking in every scene for months on end, it’s unlikely to amount to any long term damage.
Thanks for this comment. I was about to post about it being 2023 and not understanding why smoking is still a thing. Everyone is different I guess.
The historical movies/shows argument does makes. Live and let live I guess.
There's no version of smoking that's totally healthy. Even just inhaling fumes from a fireplace isn't great. I imagine a lot of em will smoke for real, or use a filler like sage or hemp
I guess you could imagine stuffing a vape into a prop cig, but that sounds high effort
There's certainly a history of big tobacco getting actors to smoke on screen, so that's certainly part of it. But another reason an actor might want to smoke is it gives them a way to utilize body language in a way that's plausible within the scene. Cigarettes, cigars, pipes, pens, eye glasses.. these sorts of props are often almost invisible (as the audience just sort of takes them for granted), but can be used by an actor with intent to convey some unsaid context.
Giving somebody something to do with their hands also helps them play the part better.
Having something to fidgit with helps an actor think and get into the character more. It also helps keep things from feeling uncomfortably stiff and unnatural because many people naturally play with things with their hands when they have conversations.
I'm reminded of the story of William Davis getting hooked on cigarettes because he insisted on smoking real cigarettes instead of props in the first episodes of X Files
IIRC, he had quit smoking and only took it back up for the roll and then got hooked again.
Lol, that dramatically alters the context. I swear, I am only doing it for the role! I'm a method actor!
I mean, many of them are getting paid enough not to care and some of them would be smokers. Also, for the majority that don't personally smoke I'm sure smoking infrequently for the occasional role wouldn't have anywhere as near a detrimental impact to health compared to even smoking only a few times a week.
I remember reading a long time ago that there's an herbal (no, not making a marijuana joke) alternative that can be smoked.
Especially when they need to show, e.g., underaged smoking.
But I don't have a source to link at my fingertips just now.
In any case, probably not good to be inhaling it though.
As far as why? Because it's in the script.
Lots of actors already smoke in their personal lives off screen. Also a really good actor will do whatever they have to in order to commit to a role.
It's a job, specifically a job where you usually have to pretend to be someone you're not.
Also, I'm always smokin'.
legacy of big tobacco. smoking transcends time as well - like, you arent going to see a character from pre-10 years ago "movie time" vaping, but smoking various plants has been a thing for quite a few centuries now.
I know that on some shoots like In The Cut they sometimes ran out of herbal smokes and people had to smoke real cigs and hated it
