LETS SMOKE
People smoke too many cigarettes in movies. Did you ever wonder how many?
Inspired by a desire to see how many cigarettes were smoked in Aki Kaurismäki’s Shadows in Paradise, this site is an exercise in trying to log how many cigarettes are smoked in a given movie or TV show and give accompanying photos.
The goal is not to find any one movie with the most cigarettes but to cover as many movies as possible where there are any cigarettes. There’s no intention to glorify smoking, I just want to gather data and depict trends in cigarette smoking in film over years in an accessible fashion because I’m a freak.
RULES
For the purposes of this site, a cigarette counts as smoked if:
- It is depicted on screen lit and actively being smoked or implied to be smoked (such as resting in an ash tray with a character nearby).
- A screenshot from the film can be used to verify that it exists.
Some other rules:
- The cigarette needs to actually be depicted on screen, not just smoke.
- Cigarette butts don’t count unless they were previously depicted as a full cigarette being smoked.
- Cigarettes smoked during deleted scenes, extended scenes, or alternate scenes that aren’t part of a specific release do not count.
- Unless another cigarette is shown being lit within a scene, we assume a total of one cigarette is smoked per scene per character.
- Photos count if they are part of the plot, not as part of the set decoration or used as a prop, such as an album cover held by a character.
- Other types of tobacco smoking (pipes, cigars, hookah) do not count. However, substances smoked in a paper-wrapped form or slim “cigarillo” form, such as “marijuana joints” or “clove cigarettes,” will be considered a cigarette for the intents of this website. This naturally excludes smoked beef brisket or other types of meat, as we have determined that brisket is not a cigarette and is generally not consumed by burning it and inhaling through one’s lungs.
CONTRIBUTING
All work here is done by volunteers. The data is all based on an individual’s observations, so it’s not the final word. I’d encourage any corrections or additional submissions of stuff that’s already here!
However, because of the need to verify the numbers, I ask that any submissions come with screenshots. This can be a tedious process, and I ask that you reach out to us before you go at it. There are some standards that you should abide by to keep things consistent with other submissions.
With that said, if you’d like to submit cigarette screenshots, you can find me on “X The Banking App Or Whatever, Formerly Known As Twitter” or Instagram with the username cigarettemovies. You can also find the site at this Bluesky profile with our domain name.
FAQ/ETC.
What’s a “REAL SMOKER MOVIE“?
Long-time smokers will know that it takes about 5 minutes to smoke a cigarette. If the result of dividing a movie’s runtime by the amount of cigarettes in it is less than or equal to 5 cigarettes smoked per minute, the movie’s smoking at the same rate as a seasoned chain smoker.
Calling a movie a “REAL SMOKER MOVIE” also just sounds funny.
OK but I thought [some movie] would have more cigarettes in it
Sorry, I’m really sorry. I will let the director know. They might release a new cut of the movie for you. Otherwise, for instances where a movie feels like cigarettes play an integral role to the narrative or just stylistically, we categorize these are “Cigarette Classics.” These aren’t honorary “REAL SMOKER MOVIES,” these are members of a distinct category that some may say surpasses the mechanical calculation of the standard class…
Why’s it called 200 Cigarettes if there aren’t 200 cigarettes smoked in it?
Not my problem, but there are 200 cigarettes in a carton.
Will you do [whatever movie that comes to mind]?
Maybe! But not immediately! It’s all volunteer work here. You can reach out to us via social media to see about contributing.