RESEARCH PAPER

Tobacco use in popular movies during the past decade

C Mekemson¹, D Glik², K Titus¹, A Myerson², A Shaivitz³, A Ang⁴, S Mitchell¹

¹ American Lung Association of Sacramento Emigrant Trails, STARS Project, Sacramento, California, USA
² University of California at Los Angeles, UCLA School of Public Health, Health and Media Research Group, Los Angeles, California, USA
³ Hollywood Health and Society, University of Southern California, Norman Lear Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
⁴ UCLA School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor Deborah Glik
UCLA School of Public Health, PO Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA; dglik{at}ucla.edu

Objective: The top 50 commercially successful films released per year from 1991 to 2000 were content coded to assess trends in tobacco use over time and attributes of films predictive of higher smoking rates.

Design: This observational study used media content analysis methods to generate data about tobacco use depictions in films studied (n = 497). Films are the basic unit of analysis. Once films were coded and preliminary analysis completed, outcome data were transformed to approximate multivariate normality before being analysed with general linear models and longitudinal mixed method regression methods.

Main outcome measures: Tobacco use per minute of film was the main outcome measure used. Predictor variables include attributes of films and actors. Tobacco use was defined as any cigarette, cigar, and chewing tobacco use as well as the display of smoke and cigarette paraphernalia such as ashtrays, brand names, or logos within frames of films reviewed.

Results: Smoking rates in the top films fluctuated yearly over the decade with an overall modest downward trend (p < 0.005), with the exception of R rated films where rates went up.

Conclusions: The decrease in smoking rates found in films in the past decade is modest given extensive efforts to educate the entertainment industry on this issue over the past decade. Monitoring, education, advocacy, and policy change to bring tobacco depiction rates down further should continue.

Abbreviations: DBO, domestic box office; MPAA, Motion Picture Association of America; TUTD, Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down!

Keywords: media content analysis; movies; tobacco use in movies

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Scales, M. B., Monahan, J. L., Rhodes, N., Roskos-Ewoldsen, D., Johnson-Turbes, A. (2009). Adolescents' Perceptions of Smoking and Stress Reduction. Health Educ Behav 36: 746-758 [Abstract]  
• Tanski, S. E., Stoolmiller, M., Cin, S. D., Worth, K., Gibson, J., Sargent, J. D. (2009). Movie Character Smoking and Adolescent Smoking: Who Matters More, Good Guys or Bad Guys?. Pediatrics 124: 135-143 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hunt, K., Sweeting, H., Sargent, J., Lewars, H., Cin, S. D., Worth, K. (2009). An examination of the association between seeing smoking in films and tobacco use in young adults in the west of Scotland: cross-sectional study. Health Educ Res 24: 22-31 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Sargent, J. D., Tanski, S. E., Gibson, J. (2007). Exposure to Movie Smoking Among US Adolescents Aged 10 to 14 Years: A Population Estimate. Pediatrics 119: e1167-e1176 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Worth, K. A, Cin, S. D., Sargent, J. D (2006). Prevalence of smoking among major movie characters: 1996-2004. Tobacco Control 15: 442-446 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Healton, C. G., Watson-Stryker, E. S., Allen, J. A., Vallone, D. M., Messeri, P. A., Graham, P. R., Stewart, A. M., Dobbins, M. D., Glantz, S. A. (2006). Televised movie trailers: undermining restrictions on advertising tobacco to youth.. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 160: 885-888 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Charlesworth, A., Glantz, S. A. (2005). Smoking in the Movies Increases Adolescent Smoking: A Review. Pediatrics 116: 1516-1528 [Abstract] [Full Text]  

eLetters:

Read all eLetters

Smoking in Movies is Up Compared to 1980s

Stanton A Glantz

Tobacco Control Online, 27 Nov 2004 [Full text]