The Hackademy Awards honor Tobacco-Free Entertainment

by Melissa Rose Kimbler | Published February 21, 2008

Justin Timberlake and Emile Hirsch in Alpha Dog (2007).

It might be a little weird for Jessica Alba to get higher praise than Jodie Foster, but the Hackademy Awards judge more than acting talent; they recognize stars and films that encourage young people not to smoke.

For the 13th year, the Hackademy Awards, which took place on February 13th in Sacramento, CA, featured a project called “Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down!”(TUTD) to draw attention to tobacco use in films that appeal to kids. Live Free or Die Hard took home top honors for eliminating main character John McClane’s smoking habit. Rated PG-13, the film was a major box office draw for teenagers who might be influenced by the actions of the film’s characters.

Other “Thumbs Up!” awards went to Jessica Alba and Shia LaBeouf for portraying appealing characters who don’t smoke. One of the “Thumbs Down!” awards went to Hairspray, a film that showed five times as many incidents of smoking than its 1988 predecessor. Other “Thumbs Down!” recipients included Jodie Foster for The Brave One and Justin Timberlake for Alpha Dog.

The awards are hosted by Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails, an independent nonprofit agency dedicated to fighting for clean air by promoting awareness of pollution and tobacco use.

For more information on the Hackademy Awards, visit http://www.scenesmoking.org.