TOBACCO IN MOVIES AND IMPACT ON YOUTH - Smoke Free ...

Tobacco in Movies & Impact on Youth
A study by Dozier et.al showed that in 92% of incidences, smoking had no
consequences. The most frequent consequence was a verbal reprimand. Although
tobacco is a leading cause of preventable deaths globally, only 0.4% of tobacco
incidences depicted in the movies resulted in death. No deaths were caused by
disease. Characters who smoked tended to be major characters playing leadership
roles. They tended to be from privileged elites. The study concluded that films
portray characters that smoke as leaders from privileged elites, making smoking
more attractive to audience members. Because 99.6% of characters suffer no life
threatening consequences from smoking on screen, smokers seem invincible,
contradicting tobacco’s role as a leading cause of preventable deaths. 19
A question may arise, “If smoking in movies was a true reflection of the society?”
The answer to this question is a clear “No.” Research has documented that
smoking was three times more prevalent in movies than in the general population
from 1960 to 1990. 20
This has made smoking in movies as the most powerful pro-tobacco influence on
kids today, accounting for 52% of adolescents who start smoking, an effect even
stronger than cigarette advertising. 21 Feature films can be used in marketing
tobacco to adolescents as they are an acceptable format of communication and
young people like going to the movies. 28 It has been established that Children
who are more receptive to such exposure are also more susceptible to start
smoking. 22
It has been found that adolescents who choose movie stars who use tobacco onscreen
are significantly more likely to have an advanced smoking status and more
favourable attitudes toward smoking than adolescents who choose non-smoking
stars. The portrayal of tobacco use in contemporary motion pictures, particularly
by the stars admired by adolescents, contributes to adolescent smoking. 23 Results
of two more cross- sectional studies indicated that adolescents were more likely to
have tried smoking if their favourite movie stars smoked on screen. 24,25 The
young people exposed to movies showing actors smoking often identify tobacco
with the stress-relieving and social aspects of smoking, despite being well aware
of the harmful health effects. Its acceptability as part of a ‘cool’ image is also well
established. Positive images of smoking in the media have the potential to downplay
the serious health consequences of smoking by portraying it in a way that
young people interpret as a normal part of everyday life. Such movies and stars
also encourage a more neutral or tolerant attitude towards smoking among young
people and therefore act to counteract other health promotion efforts to reduce
teenage smoking. 26
Studies show that experience as a smoker appears to further inflate the credibility
of realistic smoking images, particularly those presented in gritty realism/drama
film. Pervasive and credible smoking scenes in film also offer support and
reassurance to older teens already smoking or having ambivalent views about
smoking. 27 A cross sectional study published in the British Medical Journal way
back in December 2001 also showed that smoking scenes in the Hollywood films
had a very strong influence on young minds. Prof. James Sargent’s study " Effect
of seeing tobacco use in films on trying smoking among adolescents” showed that
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