8/4/2017 Tobacco Gets More Screen Time in Blockbuster Movies, Study Shows - The New York Times

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MOVIES

Tobacco Gets More Screen Time in

Blockbuster Movies, Study Shows
By NIRAJ CHOKSHI JULY 11, 2017
Tobacco is appearing more in blockbuster movies, raising public health concerns, a
new study finds.

Depictions or suggestions of tobacco use in top-grossing movies rose 72 percent

from 2010 to 2016, according to the report, published by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. The increase was especially large among top-grossing
movies with R ratings, which saw a 90 percent rise in tobacco-use imagery, though
researchers noted with special concern that movies rated PG-13 also saw a sizable
increase: 43 percent.

That, they said, is troubling because evidence strongly suggests that depictions
of smoking in movies can lead to youth smoking. To mitigate that, the Motion
Picture Association of America should consider giving an R rating to any movie that
depicts smoking, they said.

There is an enormous need to implement an industrywide standard by

requiring that all movies rated for kids are smoke-free, Dr. Stanton Glantz, one of
the reports authors, said in a news release. Dr. Glantz is a professor and director of
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Education. He and two of the four other authors have received grants from the Truth
Initiative, an antismoking group.

Despite the rise in depictions of tobacco use in movies, cigarette smoking among
teenagers is nonetheless declining thanks to robust public health efforts.

Chris Ortman, a spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America,

defended the ratings system, which provides parents with guidance on a movies
content, though the organization did not directly address the rise in tobacco-use
imagery found by the researchers.

This system has withstood the test of time because, as American parents
sensitivities change, so too does the rating system, he said in a statement.
Elements such as violence, language, drug use, and sexuality are continually re-
evaluated through surveys and focus groups to mirror contemporary concern and to
better assist parents in making family viewing choices.

In 2007, the association began considering tobacco imagery in its ratings

alongside other factors, but it also takes into account historical accuracy and whether
or not tobacco use is glorified. The majority of films that feature tobacco ultimately
receive R ratings, it said.

The reports findings suggest that earlier progress in reducing tobacco

depictions on screen had stagnated. From 2005 to 2010, portrayals of tobacco use in
movies rated G, PG and PG-13 declined, but then stabilized. It is now rare to see
tobacco in a movie rated G or PG, but its presence increased in PG-13 movies.

While depictions of tobacco use are up over all, the portrayals are limited to a
shrinking share of movies: From 2010 to 2016, the portion of top-grossing movies
that featured any tobacco use fell to 41 percent from 45 percent. In other words, the
rising depiction of tobacco use is concentrated among a smaller share of movies.

The C.D.C. report relies on data from Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down!, a project of
Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails, anonprofitthat advocates clean
air, healthy lungs and tobacco control.

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8/4/2017 Tobacco Gets More Screen Time in Blockbuster Movies, Study Shows - The New York Times

The data is collected by trained monitors who count each instance of direct or
implied tobacco use in the 10 top-grossing movies each week. The tallies are counted
generously, the C.D.C. said: A new instance of tobacco use is recorded whenever a
product a cigarette, cigar, pipe, hookah or smokeless tobacco product leaves
and re-enters the screen or when a different actor is shown with a tobacco product,
for example.

To their credit, the major movie studios have implemented policies that most
likely helped to halve the number of occurrences of tobacco use in movies from 2005
to 2010, the researchers said. But, with the trend failing to continue, they say more
needs to be done.

In addition to giving an R rating to any movie that features smoking or tobacco

use, studios can certify that neither they nor their producers were paid to show
tobacco on screen, and they can choose to stop depicting tobacco brands altogether,
the researchers suggested. They also said that states could limit subsidies to movies
that depict tobacco use.

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