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Research papers: C Mekemson, D Glik, K Titus, A Myerson, A Shaivitz, A Ang, and S Mitchell Tobacco use in popular movies during the past decade Tob Control 2004; 13: 400-402 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

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Smoking in Movies is Up Compared to 1980s

Stanton A Glantz   (27 November 2004)

Smoking in Movies is Up Compared to 1980s 27 November 2004
Stanton A Glantz, Professor UCSF Send letter to journal: Re: Smoking in Movies is Up Compared to 1980s glantz{at}medicine.ucsf.edu Stanton A Glantz	Mekemson, et al. [1] present a thorough study of the presentation of smoking in the top 50 grossing movies each year from mid-1991 to mid-2001 that concludes that the levels of smoking was either constant or decreased slightly. (The small, but significant, drop with time they report may be the result of the fact that the smoking was much higher than average at their first data point, 1991-92, making it a leverage point). Their results are comparable to data collected during the same period by Glantz, et al. [2] as part of a study that spanned a much longer time, 1950-2002, based on a smaller random sample of the top 20 grossing films each year (Table). The longer-term data also show that the levels of smoking in the movies in the 1990s was about twice the levels observed in the 1980s (p=.037 by ANOVA).   Year of Release n Tobacco incidents/min Square root tobacco incidents/min     Mean SD Mean SD 1991-2001 [1] 497 0.168 0.207 0.318 0.259 1991-2001 [2] 55 0.142 0.120 0.330 0.179 1980-1990 [2] 26 0.071 0.053 0.241 0.116 References: 1.         Mekemson C, Glik D, Titus K, Myerson A, Shaivitz A, Ang A, Mitchell S. Tobacco Use in Popular Movies During the Past Decade. Tob Control 2004;13(4):400-402. 2.         Glantz SA, Kacirk KW, McCulloch C. Back to the Future: Smoking in Movies in 2002 Compared with 1950 Levels. Am J Public Health 2004;94(2):261-3. November 27, 2004