Up in Smoke: Disney Bans Cigarettes

July 26, 2007 — -- From Bette Davis to James Dean, many Hollywood legends were never without a cigarette on the silver screen, but those days are long gone, as one of Hollywood's biggest titans has finally kicked the habit.

The CEO of The Walt Disney Co. has made a groundbreaking announcement: Smoking will no longer be featured in Disney movies.

And with other studios likely to follow suit, Hollywood's longstanding love affair with the cigarette may finally be up in smoke.

Bob Iger, the head of Disney, the parent company of ABC News, has pledged to ban smoking from all Disney branded films and to never show cigarette smoking on the big screen again. Additionally, Disney plans to add anti-smoking public service announcements in theaters and on DVD.

"It's safe to assume these are very powerful media in terms of how they can impact behavior — for the good and the bad — and this is one way we felt like we should not be trying to impact people negatively," Iger said.

This is a significant announcement for Disney, a studio that portrays 18 percent of all smoking scenes depicted in youth-rated movies.