Tobacco’s Recurring Role in Award-Nominated Television Threatens to Undermine Youth Prevention Gains

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 10, 2025) – As the entertainment industry prepares to celebrate television’s biggest night, a recent Truth Initiative report, While You Were Streaming: Lights, Camera, Addiction, raises urgent concerns: Several Emmy-nominated shows feature tobacco imagery that threatens to re-normalize nicotine use among young audiences. This marks the seventh annual While You Were Streaming report from Truth Initiative, which has long led efforts to raise awareness and drive action on the impact of tobacco depictions on screens.

Hollywood’s influence is at an all-time high—with viral images of celebrities like Charli XCX and Jeremy Allen White lighting up—and threatening to undo progress. While national survey data indicate e-cigarette use among young people is at its lowest level in a decade, research shows that exposure to tobacco imagery can triple a young person’s likelihood of starting to vape. Popular shows continue to showcase characters using cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and other nicotine products—normalizing an addictive behavior for impressionable viewers.

How Media Shapes Youth Attitudes Around Nicotine

In 2023 alone, Truth Initiative found that nearly 17 million young people were exposed to tobacco imagery through popular shows. This year’s Emmy nominations highlight the ongoing problem: Three of the nominated shows outlined in the report (The Last of Us, The Simpsons, and Bob’s Burgers) contain tobacco depictions, reinforcing the powerful influence of media on shaping youth attitudes and behaviors around nicotine. While others weren’t referenced in this latest report, past seasons and episodes paint a smoky picture. The Emmy-nominated The Bear more than doubled its tobacco depictions from 2021 to 2022, prior seasons of Black Mirror also included tobacco imagery, and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story contained more than 300 tobacco incidents in a single season.

“Tobacco’s resurgence on screen isn’t just entertainment—it’s a public health risk,” said Dr. Jessica Rath, Senior Vice President, Schroeder Institute at Truth Initiative. “By glamorizing and normalizing nicotine use, these images put young audiences at heightened risk of addiction.”

The While You Were Streaming reports draw on Truth Initiative research that surveys young people ages 15–24 each year to identify the top five streaming platforms and most popular shows among this demographic. This focus is critical, as e-cigarette use is highest among young adults 18–24—often dubbed the “JUUL Generation”—who continue to face the aftermath of the youth vaping epidemic, with nearly one in five now at risk of long-term nicotine addiction. Growing concern is also mounting regarding cigarette smoking among young people in this age group, fueled by celebrities and media that continue to glamorize the behavior.

For those trying to quit, on-screen tobacco depictions may pose a challenge. Members of the EX Program community—the digital quit program from Truth Initiative—have reported that seeing tobacco use on screen can trigger nicotine cravings and undermine quit attempts. As one participant explained, “Just watching TV and movies, whenever someone reveals a cigarette, lights up and takes a ‘drag,’ the craving is as if they are lighting up right beside me.”

The Stakes Are High for Gen Z

• Approximately 2.25 million middle and high school students reported current use of any tobacco product.

• More than 1.6 million U.S. middle and high school students currently use e-cigarettes.

• Nearly 40% of youth e-cigarette users report frequent use, a clear sign of growing nicotine dependence.

• Oral nicotine pouch use among high school students nearly doubled between 2023 and 2024.

• A newly released Truth Initiative report reveals the alarming prevalence of e-cigarettes in middle and high schools nationwide, with educators saying vaping is “everywhere.”

How to Protect Young Audiences

Truth Initiative urges the entertainment industry to adopt stronger policies to eliminate tobacco imagery from content accessible to youth, particularly on streaming platforms. Parents, policymakers, and creators all have a role to play in protecting young audiences from harmful depictions of smoking and vaping.

Streaming platforms can also take an active approach to changing the picture. Research-backed, proven-effective resources are critical to helping people quit smoking, vaping, or using any tobacco product. Entertainment companies should ensure that content featuring tobacco imagery includes pre-roll or end-card messages with tested messaging and quit resources—such as EX Program, a free online quit program developed by Truth Initiative with Mayo Clinic—to provide viewers with guidance and support.

Shows also have the power to reduce tobacco depictions and incorporate realistic quitting examples into storylines. For example, while earlier seasons of The Bear included many depictions of its main character played by Jeremy Allen White using tobacco, more recent seasons find him quitting with the help of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). NRTs are FDA-approved treatments that come in several forms including nicotine gum, lozenges, or the patch.

“Young people deserve stories that inspire—not images that could hook them on a lifetime of nicotine addiction,” added Dr. Rath. 

For more information and to read the full report, visit: 

https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/tobacco-pop-culture/lights-camera-addiction 

About Truth Initiative

Truth Initiative® is a national nonprofit public health organization committed to a future free from lifelong addiction, fostering healthier lives and a more resilient nation. Our mission is to prevent youth and young adult nicotine addiction and empower quitting for all. Through our evidence-based, market-leading cessation intervention, EX® Program, and national public education campaigns, we lead the fight against youth and young adult tobacco use. Learn more at truthinitiative.org. 

About EX Program

EX® Program is a proven-effective tobacco cessation program, developed by Truth Initiative® with Mayo Clinic, that brings together the best evidence-based quitting approaches, interactive digital quitting programs, and the most established online quit community. EX Program has helped millions of youth and adults develop the skills and confidence to successfully quit. Truth Initiative research has shown that EX Program text messages can increase a user’s odds of quitting by up to 40%. To learn more, visit exprogram.com.