One of the goals of the Smoke Screeners Program is to have students simply think about tobacco use in the next movie or TV show they see, as well as all subsequent movies they may view. These activities are a great start to weaving media literacy into young people's lives. The more youth practice critical viewing, the more likely they are to make healthy life choices. Depending on your interest, time, and curriculum flexibility, we have provided several activities to reinforce or expand on the ideas introduced in the video.

Activity 1 Smoke Screeners movie review checklist
Activity 2 Start a letter writing campaign
Activity 3 Publish Smoke Screeners movie review
Activity 4 Create a Smoke Screeners Website
Activity 5 Rewrite the script
Activity 6 Take 2! Role playing
Activity 7 Smoke Screeners poster contest

ACTIVITY 1. Smoke Screeners Movie Review Checklist

The Smoke Screeners Movie Review Checklist has been provided for students to review a movie's or TV program's portrayal of tobacco use. This checklist can be used as a formal assignment or as an extracurricular activity:

In class/club with a video rental.

On a field trip to the movie theater.

As a 1-day to 2-week assignment using a rental video, going to the movies, or watching their regular television movies or programs at home. (This could include asking parents, grandparents, or siblings to watch together.)

Using the checklist, students record each incident and portrayal of tobacco use during a film. Results can be shared later and can form the basis for further discussion or a letter-writing campaign. Results can also be reported in the student or local newspaper as a special feature or regular column.

Note: You may want to check your school policy to see whether written parental permission is necessary before showing students a movie.


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Sharpen your pencils, jump on the computer - let the movie and TV industry know what young people think! Letters to filmmakers, producers, directors, actors, etc., asking for less tobacco use or realistic and responsible portrayals of smoking in future movies can be an effective grassroots call-to-action. Students are customers - customers who can make specific recommendations about the product they're "buying." Maybe then more filmmakers will think about their influence on young people.

Here's a sample letter:

Dear actor/director, As part of the Smoke Screeners project, students watched the film/ program "___________________" in which you starred/that you directed. We were concerned to see cigarette/cigar smoke/spit tobacco in "X" number of scenes throughout the film/program. Not once was there any mention of the serious health consequences of smoking. Youth often look up to actors and want to imitate them. Maybe you don't realize that when you light up/have an actor light up on screen and make it look so cool, it can encourage kids to smoke. Don't get us wrong. We love films, and we're not asking you to take all smoking scenes out of the movies - but, consider showing smoking less often and more realistically. With your talent, you could easily use other props and gestures to create celebrative, rebellious, romantic, frustrated, and other moods. Thanks for listening, Your Name Your Grade, School, Town, State

Note: The Resource and Information Sheet lists addresses to begin your letter-writing campaign.


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ACTIVITY 3. Publish Smoke Screeners Movie Reviews

Establish a regular Smoke Screeners Movie Review Column by students in your school newspaper or newsletter. The short reviews would focus on which movies contained tobacco use, which characters smoked, why smoking occurred in the film, and how realistic the smoking appeared to be, as well as whether they could have used other props or gestures to create a similar mood.


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ACTIVITY 4. Create a Smoke Screeners Website

If Web resources are available, students can create a Smoke Screeners Web site to promote local campaign activities. In fact, many Internet service providers offer opportunities to build Web pages for free. Check with local providers for more information.

The home page could include the following:

Smoke Screeners movie review (created in Activity 1)

Reports on local Smoke Screeners activities.

Links to other Web sites with health and tobacco prevention activities.

Note: The Resource and Information Sheet lists web sites to which you can link.


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Here's a chance to let your students be movie scriptwriters! Ask students to rewrite portions of their favorite movies in one or more ways.

They can either:

eliminate tobacco use in the movies. Ask them to think about the action, mood, character development, and dialogue. What could the characters be holding or doing instead of smoking or chewing tobacco that still makes them look lonely? Happy? Frustrated?

rewrite the scene to make the use of tobacco more realistic. Show how characters would act or speak if they actually were regular smokers (e.g., actors may be coughing and out of breath instead of effortlessly jogging)

Add negative comments about lighting up, not being able to quit, or the secondhand smoke bothering someone.

To do it the way professionals create a film, you can use a Smoke Screeners Storyboard Sheet to plot out the writing and visuals from that scene. Share the results with the class in the form of a group presentation or in-class school exhibit.


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ACTIVITY 6. Take 2! Role Playing

Ask your students to role-play scenes from movies that exhibit unrealistic portrayals of tobacco use. Have them play characters from those movies and demonstrate the reality of those situations (e.g., Leonardo DiCaprio has a coughing attack during a romantic scene in Titanic; Linda Hamilton is wheezing and coughing when she's running away from the Terminator in Terminator 2).

Note: If you've done Activity 5: Rewrite the Script!, you can base the role playing on the work you've already done there.


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ACTIVITY 7. Smoke Screeners Poster Contest

Have students create their own Smoke Screeners poster for "realistic smoking in the movies." The poster should express the ideas presented in the Smoke Screeners Program in a way that students think will reach their peers. This could be a contest within a class, youth center, or school-wide.

Note: You can visit the CDC Office on Smoking and Health Web site (www.cdc.gov/tobacco) to order free posters of the music group Boyz II Men, supermodel Christy Turlington, or other available posters to use as prizes.


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