Have you noticed how much smoking there is in the movies? And that the main character is often a smoker?
If you think it's an accident, you're wrong. Over the last few years more than 50 films, including many intended for children, have been used as advertising channels for particular cigarette brands.
They include box office hits like Superman II, Crocodile Dundee, Beverly Hills Cop, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Lethal Weapon II, Desperately Seeking Susan, Thelma and Louise and Pulp Fiction.
Lois Lane, the female lead in Superman II, smokes - but only in the film; in the original story, she didn't smoke at all! It's claimed that a cigarette manufacturer paid a hefty sum to make her a heavy smoker.
It's called product placement, and the most expensive example ever is rumoured to be in the James Bond film Licence to Kill. It's claimed that a cigarette company paid £1 million to have James Bond smoke in that film.
Licence to Kill.... They couldn't have picked a more appropriate title if they'd tried!
