ONSCREEN SMOKING NOW VERIFIED TO HAVE IMPACT ON ADOLESCENT SMOKING
Stark figures on smoking initiation after exposure to onscreen smoking, reveals US survey
In another step towards proving that onscreen smoking does have a definite negative impact on adolescent, and a villain’s smoking makes even more impact than a hero’s smoking; two studies were published recently from the USA.
A study to determine exposure to movie smoking in relation to smoking initiation among US adolescents was conducted by random–digital-dial survey on 6522 adolescents aged 10 to 14 years. Prevalence of smoking was about 2% among those with the lowest exposure to smoking in movies, steadily going up to almost 30% among those with highest exposure.
This study demonstrates, in a nationally representative US sample of young adolescents, that exposure to movie smoking has a strong association with smoking initiation and that the association holds within broad racial and ethnic categories and regardless of where the adolescent resides. It also suggests that, exposure to movie smoking is a primary independent risk factor, accounting for smoking initiation in more than one-third of US adolescents 10 to 14 years of age.
In light of the recent unfortunate comments made by the Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad that smoking in movies has little effect on children, these studies provide definite proof that exposure to smoking in films does impact the youth and influence them to initiate smoking.
In another longitudinal, random-digit-dial telephone survey of 6522 US adolescents, conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, current smoking status and movie exposure was assessed 4 times over 24 months. The adolescents surveyed were asked whether they had seen any recently released movies, in which smoking by major characters was identified, along with the type of portrayal. The portrayal was divided into negative, positive, and mixed/neutral categories.
By the 24-month follow-up survey, 15.9% of the baseline never-smokers had tried smoking. Within the sample of movies selected, 3848 major characters were identified, of whom 69% were male. Smokers represented 22.8% of 518 negative characters, 13.7% of 2486 positive characters, and 21.1% of 844 mixed/neutral characters.
The study clearly shows that smoking in movies and impacts adolescent smoking initiation – regardless of character type, which demonstrates the importance of limiting exposure to smoking as it is portrayed on screen. In fact, the study has also shown that negative character portrayals of smoking have stronger impact on low risk-taking adolescents; undercutting the often-repeated argument that smoking by villain in a film is ok.
“These are just some of the multitude of studies that have been, and are being conducted internationally that prove that depiction of smoking in films does have definite impact on the smoking behaviour of youth across geographies,” said Dr. P.C.Gupta, Director, Healis – Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health. “In light of such conclusive research reports, it is essential for the authorities to recognize the health risks that such exposure creates, and take necessary action to see to it that smoking in films is banned. The urban and semi-urban youth in India are either avid moviegoers or watch movies at home, and when they see their favourite stars on screen, whether hero or villain, they try and emulate this by beginning to smoke themselves. By curbing scenes which depict smoking in movies, a lot can be accomplished in preventing initiation smoking among youth” he added.
In India today, the movie-watching population – especially among adolescents – is in the millions, and since it is proven that any depiction of smoking on-screen has the ability to impact these young moviegoers and influence them to initiate smoking, the authorities need to take immediate steps to curb such on-screen depiction of smoking, and not pass such depictions in the name of ‘creative freedom, as is being done today.
