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A Dartmouth Medical School
pediatrician is part of the research team that has determined there is
increasing concern among adults about the depiction of smoking in movies and
how it influences adolescents.
Susanne Tanski, an assistant professor of pediatrics and a co-author on the
study, was part of the group reporting their findings on Feb. 12 at the American Medical
Association (AMA) Alliance's National Advocacy
Conference in Washington, D.C. The AMA Alliance is the grass-roots arm of
the AMA that involves physicians who promote health and wellness.
Susanne Tanksi (Photo by Mark Washburn)
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"This series of surveys demonstrates an increasing awareness of the
impact of smoking in movies on young people," says Tanski, who is also
affiliated with the Norris Cotton
Cancer Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical
Center. "With the level of concern this has generated among parents, I
hope that the movie industry is paying attention."
In surveys conducted for the past three years by the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University, adults were
asked about their attitudes toward smoking in the movies and polled about their
thoughts on implementing an "R" rating for movies that depict
smoking. The findings show that 70 percent of adults call for "R"
ratings in movies that show smoking, unless the film clearly demonstrates the
dangers of smoking or if it is necessary to represent a real historical figure
who did smoke. In fact, public support for the "R" rating increased
by more than 10 percent from previous years.
Two-thirds of adults agree that movies should be required to show an
antismoking advertisement before any film that includes smoking. The survey
also determined that support for these policies among parents is not
significantly different from adults in general.
Past Dartmouth research has explored how movies influence adolescent
behavior, including smoking and drinking, and has revealed that when
adolescents see smoking in movies, they are more likely to try smoking.
More information about this series of surveys and its findings is available online.
In addition to Tanski, other authors on the paper include: Robert McMillen
and Nell Valentine with the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State
University; and Jonathan Winickoff, of Harvard Medical School.
By SUSAN KNAPP
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