Joseph Breen wrote that the elimination of smoking scenes had to be “done voluntarily and willingly by the studio making the picture.” This put the onus on studios to be responsible about how they were depicting smoking, and to this day, it’s not uncommon for movies to carry a disclaimer in the closing credits: “No person or entity associated with this film received payment or anything of value, or entered into any agreement, in connection with the depiction of tobacco products.”

Actors in modern movies often use nonaddictive, tobacco-free herbal cigarettes for smoking scenes, and for her part, Bette Davis seemed to regard the cigarette as a useful prop that gave her something to do with her hands and could help build characterization. She later said:

“I discovered that for a performance a cigarette is a marvelous prop — sometimes for emphasis, sometimes for anger. For so many things. What emotions you can convey merely by putting one out! If I played a character who smoked, I didn’t just take a puff or two in one scene only. I smoked all through the film, as any serious smoker would.”

While the “All About Eve” smoking controversy might seem like a tempest in a teacup — or ashtray — it wouldn’t be the last time in Hollywood history that such controversy arose. A 2019 Surgeon General’s report (via the Centers for Disease Control) concluded that “exposure to onscreen smoking in movies causes young people to start smoking” and recommended “giving an R rating to future movies with smoking.” CNN reported the same year that onscreen smoking in PG-13 films had doubled since 2010, and for anyone who’s ever lost a loved one to lung cancer, it’s understandable why they might not be thrilled to see smoking romanticized under glamorous key lighting on film.