US senators urge Netflix to reduce smoking scenes

US senator-democrats Edward Markey, Chris Van Hollen and Richard Blumenthal on March 31 sent a letter to Netflix, urging the company to take steps to decrease young people’s exposure to tobacco, nicotine, and vaping imagery in video content, Report informs referring to Senator for Massachusetts’ website.

According to a recent report by the Truth Initiative, Netflix has been the top offender for the last four years with respect to the prevalence of this imagery in both new releases and popular shows among 15 to 24 year-olds.

“Netflix’s apparent failure to stop the proliferation of this content poses serious health risks to young viewers. Young people who are exposed to tobacco imagery on streaming platforms are three times more likely to begin to use vaping products,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.

“This research builds on decades of evidence supporting the proposition that tobacco use in the media can increase youth tobacco use,” continued the lawmakers. “As young people continue to view Netflix’ programming in large numbers, your company has an obligation to ensure that its programming does not pose a health risk to these viewers.”