# smoking on scree and TV- paid for? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-on-scree-and-tv-paid-for/749088 "2016-03-15T17:57:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 18
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-on-scree-and-tv-paid-for/749088/18 "2016-03-16T17:28:23Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Addressing the OP more broadly: as fun as it is to mock the quality of the cites you provided, the cites are really besides the point. I don’t think anyone questions the idea that tobacco companies have paid for product placement in the past. And I doubt anyone would be particularly surprised to learn that tobacco companies were skirting -or outright breaking - laws about tobacco advertising in movies. But you presented the idea that the title character in _Lucifer_ smoking was the result of paid product placement [as an established fact](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19174549&postcount=151). As far as I can see, you have precisely zero evidence that this particular instance of someone smoking on TV was the result of anything other than a creative choice on behalf of the show’s creators. So, I’m wondering, given the lack of evidence for your claim in this particular regard - do you think that there are _any_ instances of smoking in films or on TV that isn’t bought and paid for? Are there any instances where a writer could just think, “It makes sense for this particular character to be a smoker,” without any further motive? > > And if there are such instances, why are you so dead certain that _Lucifer_ - a show about the literal devil - isn’t one of them? I think\* all\* depictions of smoking are paid for. It is interesting that many posters seem to trust Big Tobacco, the people known for lying over and over and over. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-on-scree-and-tv-paid-for/749088)._