New studies bolster claims on movie smoking

Children and young teens have been shown to be vulnerable to on-screen tobacco use.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. March 5, 2007.

Washington -- Support exists among adults nationwide for giving R ratings to all movies featuring smoking, according to a new survey.

Advocates working to ban smoking in films intended for children and young teens welcomed the findings as useful ammunition in efforts to convince studio heads to eliminate tobacco use in films rated G, PG and PG-13.

Several studies have shown that watching favorite actors light up on screen plays a large role in persuading young people to try smoking.

Every day, nearly 4,000 teens start smoking, and 1,500 of them become daily smokers, said AMA board Chair Cecil B. Wilson, MD. He spoke at a Feb. 12 briefing with other advocacy groups, including the AMA Alliance, a volunteer organization of 26,000 physicians and spouses. The briefing was held to unveil the survey data.

For each of the past three years, the researchers, who hail from several universities, asked nearly 2,000 adults whether they believe that adolescents are more likely to smoke if they watch actors smoking in movies. The affirmative answers have risen from 75% in 2004 to nearly 81% last year.

The numbers also were up among adults who themselves smoke, with 62% agreeing that on-screen smoking exerts a powerful influence among young people, up from 54% in 2004.

In addition, the surveyors reported that nearly 67% of all adults contacted in phone interviews favored requiring theaters to show an anti-smoking ad before any film featuring cigarette use, and 61% believed that tobacco logos should not be allowed in any movie scene.