IntroductionResearch indicates that exposure totobacco imagery in movies is a potent cause[1] of youth experimentation and progressionto established smoking [2–4], with adose-response relationship that indicatesheavily exposed youths are about threetimes as likely to begin smoking as lightlyexposed youths [1]. Links between exposureto tobacco imagery in movies and initiationof smoking among youth have been documentedin several countries with distinctcultures, diverse tobacco regulatory regimes(including varying controls on advertising),and different smoking prevalences [5–8].This evidence led the World Health Organization(WHO) to recommend [2] as partof implementing Article 13 of the WHOFramework Convention on Tobacco Control(FCTC) [9] that all future movies withscenes of smoking (and other tobacco) begiven an adult content rating, with thepossible exception of movies that depict thedangers of tobacco use or smoking by anactual historical figure who actually smoked.The primary logic for recommending anadult content rating policy is to create aneconomic incentive for producers to leavesmoking out of movies that are marketed toyouths. A 2005 study in the US concludedthat the return on investment for youthratedmovieswas 70%, compared with 29%for adult content (R-rated) movies [10].Essentially eliminating smoking and othertobacco imagery from youth-rated filmswould substantially reduce the total exposureof onscreen smoking images deliveredto youth. (In addition, while youth do seesome adult-rated films, they are less likely tosee them than youth-rated films.)
DOWNLOAD PDF : journal.pmed.1001077[1]
IntroductionResearch indicates that exposure totobacco imagery in movies is a potent cause[1] of youth experimentation and progressionto established smoking [2–4], with adose-response relationship that indicatesheavily exposed youths are about threetimes as likely to begin smoking as lightlyexposed youths [1]. Links between exposureto tobacco imagery in movies and initiationof smoking among youth have been documentedin several countries with distinctcultures, diverse tobacco regulatory regimes(including varying controls on advertising),and different smoking prevalences [5–8].This evidence led the World Health Organization(WHO) to recommend [2] as partof implementing Article 13 of the WHOFramework Convention on Tobacco Control(FCTC) [9] that all future movies withscenes of smoking (and other tobacco) begiven an adult content rating, with thepossible exception of movies that depict thedangers of tobacco use or smoking by anactual historical figure who actually smoked.The primary logic for recommending anadult content rating policy is to create aneconomic incentive for producers to leavesmoking out of movies that are marketed toyouths. A 2005 study in the US concludedthat the return on investment for youthratedmovieswas 70%, compared with 29%for adult content (R-rated) movies [10].Essentially eliminating smoking and othertobacco imagery from youth-rated filmswould substantially reduce the total exposureof onscreen smoking images deliveredto youth. (In addition, while youth do seesome adult-rated films, they are less likely tosee them than youth-rated films.)