Young Smokers Mimic Movie Stars

It is not a secret that tobacco corporations use different methods to recruit new cigarette consumers among young people, and that indirect cigarette advertising in movies and on TV is one of them.

A new study, conducted among young Americans and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, has revealed that the rate of smoking among young TV and movie viewers increase if they watch their favourite stars smoke on screen. This online survey interviewed 1,500 young people, who were asked about their smoking habits and which popular movies among the list of 60 they had recently watched.

According to statistics, one-third of current smokers start smoking before the age of 25, and the new facts revealed by the survey show that their decision to start is directly related to exposure to smoking on screen. Those ages 18-25, who often watch movies where actors smoke, have 77%  probability of starting smoking and 86% - to become regular smokers, in comparison which those who seldom watch such movies. Another correlation is that the more movies with smoking the respondents watched, the more chances they had to be hooked on cigarettes: smoking rose by 21% with 25% increase in exposure to movies featuring smoking.

Other factors that influence the decision of young people to either start or continue smoking are: peer pressure from the side of smoking friends; exposure to smoking in the family environment; and positive expectations about smoking. Movies, in which celebrities are shown with cigarettes or cigars, have a power to both create a positive attitude towards smoking and encourage young viewers to start experimenting with tobacco.  

How can young viewers be protected from harmful exposure to smoking in movies? The cinema industry has to become more responsible not to show actors smoking. A few months ago, the Motion Picture Association of America promised to that smoking by both underage and adults movie characters would become a more important factor in determining movie ratings, which meant that the tags “glamorized smoking” or “pervasive smoking” would be added to the list of such movie factors as sex, coarse language, and violence. Some critics of the movie industry are even going as far as suggesting that films with smoking should be included in the “R” rating category, which would restrict their viewers’ audience to people over 17.

It has to be noted that the frequency of smoking in films has declined in the last decade, and has dropped from 60% to 52% between the years 2004 and 2006. However, in 68% of modern blockbusters, characters continue smoking tobacco and smoking is depicted in either positive or neutral light with no negative consequences. 

Darlene Marlow

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