Four Arguments against the Adult-Rating of Movies with Smoking Scenes

Chapman, Simon; Farrelly, Matthew C.

doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001078

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…34 Because risk behaviors cluster in movies, exposure assessments of these individual behaviors are correlated, and it requires studies of substantial sample size to disentangle the respective effects. From a theoretical standpoint, the most simple explanation for an association between seeing movies and drinking is the direct modeling…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol Consumption in Movies and Adolescent Binge Drinking in 6 European Countries

et al. 2012

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OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to investigate whether the association between exposure to images of alcohol use in movies and binge drinking among adolescents is independent of cultural context. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study in 6 European countries (Germany, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, and Scotland) was conducted. A total of 16 551 pupils from 114 public schools with a mean (± SD) age of 13.4 (± 1.18) years participated. By using previously validated methods, exposure to alcohol use in movies was estimated from the 250 top-grossing movies of each country (years 2004−2009). Lifetime binge drinking was the main outcome measure. RESULTS: Overall, 27% of the sample had consumed >5 drinks on at least 1 occasion in their life. After controlling for age, gender, family affluence, school performance, television screen time, sensation seeking and rebelliousness, and frequency of drinking of peers, parents, and siblings, the adjusted β-coefficient for lifetime binge drinking in the entire sample was 0.12 (95% confidence interval: 0.10−0.14; P < .001). The crude relationship between movie alcohol use exposure and lifetime binge drinking was significant in all countries; after covariate adjustment, the relationship was still significant in 5 of 6 countries. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the association is content specific, as there was no significant association between lifetime binge drinking and exposure to smoking in movies. CONCLUSIONS: The link between alcohol use in movies and adolescent binge drinking was robust and seems relatively unaffected by cultural contexts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol Consumption in Movies and Adolescent Binge Drinking in 6 European Countries

et al. 2012

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“…Exposure to tobacco use in movies is causally related to youth smoking initiation,4 11 and there may be some impact on adults 12. While estimates of movies’ influence on youth smoking have been criticised as too large,13 movies clearly have a meaningful and substantial impact on youth and, to a lesser extent, young adult smoking 4 11…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Out smoking on the big screen: tobacco use in LGBT movies, 2000–2011: Table 1

et al. 2013

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Objective Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have significantly higher smoking prevalence than heterosexual people in the United States. The reasons for this disparity remain unclear. Tobacco use in movies has a substantial influence on tobacco use behaviours, particularly among youth. Yet, no research has examined tobacco use in movies for LGBT audiences or containing LGBT characters. Methods We identified 81 U.S. movies from 2000–2011 with a theatre release and with LGBT themes or characters. We then selected a random sample of these movies (n = 45) for quantitative content analysis to examine the proportion of movies with depictions of tobacco use and the number of occurrences of tobacco use. Results Tobacco use was depicted in 87%(95% confidence interval [CI]: 80%–94%) of movies with an average of 4 occurrences of tobacco use per hour (95% CI: 3–5). Only 15% (95% CI: 8%–23%) of movies and 3% of all depictions of tobacco use conveyed any harms of tobacco use. Conclusions Viewers of movies with LGBT themes or characters are exposed, on average, to one depiction of tobacco use for every 15 minutes of movie run-time. As a major component of the entertainment media environment, movies may contribute to smoking among LGBT people.

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“…Contributing to the complexity of research in this area is the fact that movie smoking imagery is highly correlated with other adult content, such as alcohol and other drug use, sexual situations, and violence [16], [26]–[28]. Studies report correlations ranging from.83 (for smoking and alcohol imagery) to.99 (for smoking, violence, and sexual content).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies report correlations ranging from.83 (for smoking and alcohol imagery) to.99 (for smoking, violence, and sexual content). [27], [28] As a result, it is difficult to disentangle the independent effect of smoking imagery on youth behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movie Smoking and Youth Initiation: Parsing Smoking Imagery and Other Adult Content

et al. 2012

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ObjectivesTo isolate the independent influence of exposure to smoking and other adult content in the movies on youth smoking uptake.MethodsWe used discrete time survival analysis to quantify the influence of exposure to smoking and other adult content in the movies on transitioning from (1) closed to open to smoking; (2) never to ever trying smoking; and (3) never to ever hitting, slapping, or shoving someone on two or more occasions in the past 30 days. The latter is a comparative outcome, hypothesized to have no correlation with exposure to smoking in the movies.ResultsAssessed separately, both exposure to smoking imagery and exposure to adult content were associated with increased likelihood of youth becoming open to smoking (OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.04–1.15 and OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.04–1.17) and having tried smoking (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.00–1.12 and OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.00–1.13). Both measures were also separately associated with aggressive behavior (OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.04–1.14 and OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.04–1.15). A very high correlation between the two measures (0.995, p<0.000) prevented an assessment of their independent effects on smoking initiation.ConclusionAlthough exposure to smoking in the movies is correlated with smoking susceptibility and initiation, the high correlation between exposure to smoking in the movies and other adult content suggests that more research is needed to disentangle their independent influence on smoking.

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Four Arguments against the Adult-Rating of Movies with Smoking Scenes

Abstract: Simon Chapman and Matthew Farrelly argue against recent calls in the US and elsewhere for movies with smoking scenes to be adult-rated.

Cited by 12 publications

References 17 publications

Alcohol Consumption in Movies and Adolescent Binge Drinking in 6 European Countries

Alcohol Consumption in Movies and Adolescent Binge Drinking in 6 European Countries

Out smoking on the big screen: tobacco use in LGBT movies, 2000–2011: Table 1

Movie Smoking and Youth Initiation: Parsing Smoking Imagery and Other Adult Content

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