The 411 - Smoking in movies

From Clint Eastwood’s iconic cigars to Audrey Hepburn’s elegant cigarette holder, actors smoking on the silver screen has long been a part of the Hollywood aesthetic. But since smoking is known to cause health issues, many viewers wonder whether actors use real cigarettes on camera, or if it’s all smoke and mirrors.

Today, actors usually approximate smoking onscreen with prop movie cigarettes, or cigarettes that don’t contain tobacco or nicotine. These herbal cigarettes usually contain marshmallow root, passion flower, cloves, or jasmine. Actors who have never smoked before may need to use their acting chops to make their herbal cigarette smoking look like they’re old hands at puffing. They also may need to learn to hide a grimace; following his extensive use of prop cigarettes while filming “Mad Men,” Jon Hamm said that the burning herbal concoction tastes “like a mix of pot and soap.”

Because they lack nicotine, prop cigarettes are thought to be less addictive than real cigarettes. Their external appearance is nearly identical to real cigarettes, and even when cut open, they can still fool the naked eye. However, prop cigarettes don’t produce as much smoke as real cigarettes, so sometimes sets approximate smoky environments through the use of prop smoke.

Article

Source: Backstage.com