How tobacco imagery in Emmy-nominated animated shows is exposing young people to smoking

Four popular animated shows nominated for the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards – “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” “Bob’s Burgers,” and the winner among them, “Big Mouth” – feature tobacco imagery, according to Truth Initiative’s analysis of tobacco depictions in entertainment.

On-screen smoking, which often glamorizes tobacco and portrays smoking as edgy and cool, is rising despite well-established research that it influences young people to start using tobacco products. Peer-reviewed research from Truth Initiative demonstrates that exposure to smoking imagery in streaming shows can triple a young person’s odds of starting to use e-cigarettes – today’s top tobacco product among young people. This finding builds on long-established research confirming that exposure to smoking in movies leads young people to start smoking, which the U.S. Surgeon General concluded in 2012.

According to a 2024 report from Parrot Analytics, animated shows have a high percentage of Gen Z viewers and have been very successful with this demographic. Animated shows that contain tobacco depictions – “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” and “Bob’s Burgers” – are reaching young people, and were among the streaming shows most popular with 15- to 24-year-olds in 2022. The Emmy nominations, which bring prestige, media attention, and increased viewership, amplify the negative impact of on-screen tobacco use on young viewers.

Snuffing out on-screen tobacco

“Big Mouth,” which won a 2024 Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance, features tobacco use by minors and depicts tobacco as fun and relaxing. In addition, “Big Mouth” and former Emmy nominees “American Dad” and “SpongeBob SquarePants” are among the top shows containing tobacco that young people binge-watched in 2022. While “Big Mouth” and “Bob’s Burgers” both decreased the number of tobacco depictions in 2022, there’s still more work to be done.

Hollywood needs to step up to protect young people from on-screen tobacco use and imagery that directly contribute to the youth e-cigarette crisis. To address youth exposure to tobacco imagery, Truth Initiative calls for a comprehensive set of policies to curb tobacco depictions on screens, including:

• Increasing awareness and outreach: Educating the industry and its various stakeholders about the risks of portraying tobacco on screen is vital.
• Including anti-smoking messages and resources to quit when tobacco imagery is present: Anti-tobacco and anti-vaping ads are successful at reducing tobacco use and should appear before and after content that contains tobacco imagery. Proven-effective resources to quit smoking, vaping, and using other tobacco products should also be shared.