Research shows there was more smoking in movies in 2011, compared to years past. The study, conducted by UC San Francisco, shows the number of actors lighting up was on the rise, particularly in movies aimed at kids.
Reversing a trend
According to researchers, the level of smoking in movies was on a steady decline for the past five years, until 2011.
In fact, in 2011, onscreen smoking increased 34 percent per movie, according to the study. This reverse in the trend is disturbing to researchers who believe glamorizing cigarettes encourages kids to smoke.
“Hollywood has still not fixed this problem,” said lead author Stanton A. Glantz, Ph.D., a professor of medicine at UCSF and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. “The result of the increase in onscreen smoking in youth-rated films will be more kids starting to smoke and developing tobacco-induced disease.”
Movies targeted at children and young adults like X-Men and Rango were among the top-grossing films in 2011 that showcased smoking.
Breaking a promise?
Three major movie studios had policies designed to curb smoking in movies in an attempt to keep kids from the habit, but researchers say that promise didn’t hold up in 2011.
“The reversal of progress toward less onscreen smoking in youth-rated movies underscores the need to rate movies with tobacco imagery as R, establishing an industry-wide market incentive to keep youth-marketed movies tobacco-free,” the researchers write.
The stats on youth smoking
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each day in the United States, approximately 3,800 young people under 18 years of age smoke their first cigarette, and an estimated 1,000 youth in that age group become daily cigarette smokers.
These habits are often started in the teen years, with statistics showing more than 80 percent of adults started smoking before turning 18 years old.
What do you think? Does Hollywood encourage smoking? Does it impact the habits of kids?
