To honor #BlackHistoryMonth, area students gathered on Instagram Live recently to discuss the film “42” as well as tobacco use in movies and community health disparities

A virtual movie event on “42,” The Jackie Robinson Story, spurred a lively Instagram Live discussion on multiple tobacco issues affecting the community and nation.

On February 25, Falconer Reality Check youth joined more than 100 youth and community members from across New York state for the discussion. The youth had a three-day window to watch the movie independently, or as part of a group watch party, to prepare for the live discussion. The goal was to share their learnings with peers and members of the community to help reduce tobacco product use in their regions and beyond.

“42” includes several smoking scenes, particularly cigar smoking. Viewers even get a glimpse of an old Philip Morris billboard in Ebbets Field, which has since been made illegal with the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, but the advertising lives on in the movie.

“The more kids see smoking on screen, the more likely they are to smoke,” said Jonathan Chaffee, Reality Check coordinator at Tobacco-Free CCA. “There’s no excuse for having smoking in movies that are rated to be sold to kids; we suggest giving an R rating to movies that include tobacco use.”

According to Chaffee, giving an R rating to future movies with smoking would be expected to reduce the number of teen smokers by nearly one in five, preventing up to 1 million deaths from smoking among children alive today.