Chicago - A new study in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, "Smoking in Top-Grossing Movies United States, 2010," shows promise for the ability of movie producers to positively affect young people's health by reducing the number of teens who smoke. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) calls on all movie producers to adopt policies that create a healthier movie experience for kids.
According to the study, which looked at on-screen tobacco incidents in youth-rated movies released in 2010, the number of such incidents has declined 72 percent since 2005. And the movie studios that have published policies designed to reduce smoking in films were responsible for a 90 percent decrease in tobacco incidents in their films, demonstrating that such an approach is feasible.
Previous research has shown a link between onscreen smoking and adolescent smoking.
Since 2008, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has supported the Smoke Free Movies campaign, which asks movie producers to leave smoking imagery out of movies meant for kids.
The AAP also has asked the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to adopt rating restrictions that would give an "R" rating to any movie featuring tobacco imagery, with few exceptions.
"As pediatricians and parents, we do our best to help kids understand the dangers of tobacco use. But if we're competing with movies that glamorize smoking to kids, it's an uphill battle," said AAP President O. Marion Burton, MD, FAAP. "Based on the evidence, on-screen smoking is one of the biggest media dangers to children. It's possible for media companies to change the way they expose children to these images by embracing responsible policies, such as the R-rating, considered to be effective by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those companies that have done so should be commended, and the others should follow suit."
The AAP also advocates for states to only subsidize those film producers that keep their youth-rated films free of tobacco imagery, which is discussed in the MMWR report.
The AAP's Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence and the AAP Council on Communications and Media work jointly on issues related to smoking and movies for the AAP.
For more information, visit www.aap.org/richmondcenter/SmokeFreeMovies.html
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
