As Movies Portray Fewer Smokers, Are Fewer Real-Life Teens Lighting Up?

June 2, 2009

Victor C. Strasburger, MD, a professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, in Albuquerque, N.M., would like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to give an automatic R-rating to movies that show smoking or violence. The MPAA is the primary group responsible for rating films in the United States.

Witnessing smoking scenes in movies may be the leading factor associated with smoking initiation among youth, Dr. Strasburger writes in a JAMA editorial.

“[The MPAA] should have a pediatrician and child psychologist on board to help with ratings,” Dr. Strasburger says. “They don’t rate heavily enough for violence. Violence in mainstream movies is out of control and Hollywood needs to accept more responsibility.”

If the movie industry reigned in the violence, “I think there would be a decrease in violence in society,” says Dr. Strasburger. “It’s not just guns—it is interpersonal violence. So the average 4-year-old boy learns very early that it is OK to punch somebody out if he disagrees because that is what he sees in movies.”

However, Stier urges caution “about assuming that there’s a clear, causal connection between movie smoking and real-life smoking—the two might well rise and fall together simply because of broader societal trends stigmatizing or valorizing cigarettes.”

Some studies that have shown a connection between movie smoking and behavior were “recall” studies in which smokers were more likely to say they remembered seeing a lot of smoking in movies. But then, people who like doing something may be more likely to recall its depiction, Stier says.

“I wouldn’t want to see a belief in strict, causal connection here lead to a law banning smoking in films,” he explains. “But the more people choose to avoid or quit the habit, and the less artists choose to glorify it, the better.”

Stanton Glantz, PhD, the UCSF professor who launched Smoke Free Movies, says that the “important thing about this paper is that it is more evidence that smoking in the movies causes kids to smoke.”

His group’s data suggest that smoking in movies peaked three years ago and has declined by 30% since then, although he says there’s plenty of room for improvement. “The fact that movie smoking remains high is one reason youth smoking did not drop more,” he says.

Both the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association Alliance recently said that movies with smoking should be R-rated, due to the link to youth smoking.

Dr. Strasburger says that parents should know that even G- and PG-rated movies may portray drugs or violence, and PG-13 and R-rated movies may have an abundance of violence, sex, or drug use. “Go to see movies with your kids and talk about the content,” he suggests. The same vigilance should be applied to TV shows and video games, he adds.

If you want to know what movies do or do not portray smoking, check out this list of films (including current releases and DVDs) provided by Smoke Free Movies.