Objectives: We analyzed the portrayal of smoking in Hollywood films starring 10 popular actressess.
Methods: Five movies were randomly sampled for each actress, for a total of 96 hours of film footage that was analyzed in 1116 5-minute intervals.
Results: Leading female actors were as likely to smoke in movies aimed at juvenile audiences (PG/PG-13) as in R-rated movies, whereas male actors were 2.5 times more likely to smoke in R-rated movies. PG/PG-13-rated movies were less likely than R-rated movies to contain negative messages about smoking.
Conclusions: Smoking is highly prevalent in Hollywood films featuring popular actressess and may influence young audiences for whom movie stars serve as role models.