Blocking out tobacco images
Pixelization is a video- and image-editing technique where part of an image is blurred by displaying it at a markedly lower resolution. It is primarily a censorship method. However, even though the image of a cigarette can be blurred during a scene, it is often an imperfect solution since viewers can typically infer that the character is indeed smoking.
In addition, unlike antitobacco spots shown before the film, pixelization does not engage the audience in critical thinking about tobacco imagery in the film. Although there are no studies yet to confirm this, logical reasoning leads to the conclusion that pixelization may actually attract attention to this imagery.
The paradoxical result of blocking tobacco images (as opposed to ensuring that they simply do not appear) is that smoking may become more intriguing to adolescents as a model of rebellious behaviour. If an aftermarket policy solution is needed, strong and proven effective anti-tobacco spots are much preferred to pixelization, blurring of films or embedding formulaic health warnings or symbols in a film.
