Lights, Camera, Addiction! - Tobacco and the Movies

Hollywood has been sending smoke signals out to kids even back in 1977 when your parents were lining up with their high school buddies to watch the very first Star Wars Movie.

If there’s one thing that Big Tobacco and public health experts agree on, it’s the fact that movies are a potent influence on teens to smoke. In fact, smoking in movies is thought to be the most powerful pro-tobacco influence on teens today, accounting for 52% of adolescents who start smoking, an effect even stronger than cigarette advertising.[1]

How many movies do you watch every week?  Most teens watch an average of three.[2]

Smoking is no way to act. You can help Hollywood kick the smoking habit.

The movie industry can take four simple steps to reduce smoking in movies:[3]

  1. Rate new smoking movies “R”.
  2. Certify no payoffs; prove that they have not received any support from the tobacco industry.
  3. Require strong anti-smoking ads.
  4. Stop identifying tobacco brands.

For more info about smoking in movies, check out the Smoking in Movies tab in our Homework Help section.

Footnotes:

[1]
Dalton, M.A., et.al. (2003). Effect of smoking in movies on adolescent smoking initiation: a cohort study. Published by the Lancet, online June 10, 2003. Accessed March 17, 2007 http://smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu/pdf/Dalton-Lancet.pdf
[2]
Distefan, J.M., Pierce, J.P. & Gilpin, E.A. (2004) Do favorite movie stars influence adolescent smoking initiation? American Journal of Public Health, Vol.94, No.7. 1239 – 1244. Accessed March 17, 2007 http://smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu/pdf/Pierce-AJPH%20Movie%20Paper.pdf
[3]
Smoke Free Movies Website: The Solution. Accessed March 17, 2007 http://smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu/solution/index.html