The
2012 Surgeon General report, Preventing
Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults,
contains an extensive discussion of the effects of
smoking in movies on young people. Bottom line:
"The evidence is sufficient to conclude that there
is a causal relationship between depictions of smoking
in the movies and the initiation of smoking among
young people." (p. 6)
•
Significantly, the 36-page section, "Images of Smoking
in Movies and Adolescent Smoking," is in Chapter
5, "The Tobacco Industry's Influences on the Use
of Tobacco Among Youth." In effect, the
Surgeon General puts smoking in the movies in
the same category as conventional cigarette marketing
activities.
•
The report reviews the "Historical Links Between the
Tobacco Companies and the Movie Industry" (pp. 565-566),
concludes that lowering young people's level of exposure
to on-screen smoking leads to lower risk of smoking
(p. 593), and endorses an R rating for smoking as
a way to reduce the level of exposure (p. 598).
•
The report also discusses the varying response to
the issue of smoking in the movies by studio, and
names names (p. 570), naming the media companies that
had nearly eliminated smoking in their youth-rated
movies as of 2010 (Disney, Time Warner, Universal)
and those that did not (Viacom, News Corp., Sony,
and the independent distributors).
•
The fact
sheet that goes with the report states, "Youth
who are exposed to images of smoking in movies are
more likely to smoke. Those who get the most exposure
to onscreen smoking are about twice as likely to begin
smoking as those who get the least exposure. Images
of smoking in movies have declined over the past decade;
however, in 2010 nearly a third of top-grossing movies
produced for children — those with ratings of
G, PG, or PG-13 — contained images of smoking."
To
facilitate use of the report in education, advocacy
and policy making, we have prepared three annotated
documents:
- A
compilation
of key statements and conclusions on smoking in
the movies from the entire report and supporting
materials
- A
highlighted version of the Executive
Summary
- A
highlighted version of Chapter
5
The
full report, fact sheet, and supporting materials
are available at the Surgeon
General's website.
Click
here for a radio discussion of the report with
Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and UCSF professors
Stanton Glantz and Pamela Ling.
