A Billion Lives (2016): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2016, A Billion Lives is a documentary film directed by Aaron Biebert, running about 94 minutes.

What it’s about. In 20 years’ time, there will be nearly 1.6 billion smokers around the world. Approximately 70% of smokers want to quit. The United Nations’ World Health Organisation expects a billion people will die prematurely from smoking this century. The products their doctors recommend are rarely effective and many are trapped. A new vapour technology was invented to give smokers a successful way to quit. But it was quickly demonised, and even banned in many countries. A perfect storm is brewing between smokers trying to quit, government regulators, and health charities funded by the powerful pharmaceutical industry. Director Aaron Biebert travelled across four continents interviewing doctors, scientists, and others working to save a billion lives. What he found was profound government failure, widespread corruption in the public health community and powerful subversion by big business.

Who’s in it. A Billion Lives stars Clive Bates as Himself, Delon Human as Himself, Oliver Kershaw as Himself and Jeff Stiers as Himself, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 8.1/10, A Billion Lives sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on fuboTV and Brew and rent or buy it from Brew. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch A Billion Lives page.

If you liked it. Fans of A Billion Lives tend to enjoy One Direction: This Is Us, Burn the Stage: The Movie, BTS World Tour: Love Yourself - Japan Edition and Senna.