Germany
Studies have linked exposure to movie smoking and smoking initiation among
U.S. adolescents, but there has been only one published study of adolescents
outside the U.S.
Method
Cross sectional survey of 5586 schoolchildren aged 10-17 with a mean of 12.8
(SD=1.2) years from randomly selected secondary schools in
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, in October/November 2005. In August 2006, using
previously validated methods, exposure to movie smoking was estimated from
398 internationally distributed films (98% produced and distributed by U.S.
studios) released in Germany, and examined its relation with ever and
current (30 day) smoking.
Conclusions
Smoking in internationally distributed movies is associated with ever and
current smoking among German adolescents. This suggests the need for
prospective studies of this association in countries other than the U.S. and
research into the potential impact of countrywide policies that would limit
exposure of young adolescents to movie smoking.