While many games contain smoking and some games even include storylines or elements where tobacco use benefits a player, some game developers recognize the risk.
For example, “Gears 5,” the newest installment in the popular third-person shooter “Gears of Wars” series, removed all references to tobacco and is now completely smoke-free. The publisher made the decision after Truth Initiative approached the game’s corporate entities about the issue of tobacco imagery in video games, according to an article in Variety.
Even as national smoking rates have declined to record lows, smoking continues to be portrayed positively on screens. Glamorizing and re-normalizing smoking, and making it appear "cool," could threaten the progress the U.S. has made in decreasing tobacco use, which kills 1,300 Americans every day.
For more information, read the Truth Initiative report “Action needed: Tobacco in pop culture.”