Because tobacco companies can't advertise on TV, they promote their products however they can in this case, through film and TV, where tobacco use appears unnaturally common, safe and cool. Hello, they're actors. So let's get real: Most Americans don't smoke; smoking causes or aggravates just about every physical evil you can imagine; and reeking of smoke or talking with tobacco breath isn't cool, it's ugly. A cigarette used on screen is a cleverly disguised ad for smoking. Don't be a stunt man for the tobacco industry. There won't be a happy ending.

• A Dartmouth University study found that teens whose favorite stars smoked were 1.5 times more likely to be smokers themselves or view smoking as socially acceptable, while those whose favorite stars smoked in three or more films were 3 times as likely to do so.
• From 1990 through 2007, at least 170 major U.S. motion pictures displayed or mentioned tobacco brands. In two-thirds of these films, the brands belonged to Philip Morris (Marlboro, etc.) One tobacco company supplied their product to be used in the G-rated film, The Muppet Movie.
• A 1989 Phillip Morris marketing plan said: "We believe that most of the strong, positive images for cigarettes and smoking are created by cinema and television. We have seen the heroes smoking in Wall Street, Crocodile Dundee, and Roger Rabbit. Mickey Rourke, Mel Gibson, and Goldie Hawn are forever seen, both on and off the screen, with a lighted cigarette. It is reasonable to assume that films and personalities have more influence on consumers that a static poster of the letters B&H pack hung on a washing line under a dark and stormy sky. If branded cigarette advertising is to take full advantage of these images, it has to do more than simply achieve package recognition �it has to feed off and exploit the image source."

But wait, there's MORE

On August 17, 2006, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kesseler issued a federal opinion in the federal government's lawsuit against major tobacco companies. It was found that the tobacco companies (the defendants):

• violated civil racketeering laws.
• defrauded the American public by lying over decades about the health risks of tobacco.
• did market to children.
• continue to deceive the public by "recruiting new smokers (the majority of whom are under the age of 18), preventing current smokers from quitting, and thereby sustaining the industry."