Elsevier

Preventive Medicine

Volume 46, Issue 6, June 2008, Pages 596-598
Preventive Medicine

Smoking in a popular German television crime series 1985–2004

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.02.012Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

We aimed to study the prevalence of smoking in a popular German television crime series (“A case for two”), which has been internationally distributed in 59 countries, over a 20 year period.

Method

A content analysis of five randomly selected episodes per year of one crime series for the period 1985 to 2004 (100 episodes in total) was conducted. Smoking status of all major and minor series characters was assessed. Each episode was coded regarding one or more smoking occurrences, defined as active smoking or handling with tobacco products by a character.

Results

97% of the episodes portrayed tobacco use with a median of 5 occurrences per episode. The series contained 1013 major and minor characters; the overall smoking prevalence was 17.1%. A downward trend in smoking occurrences and prevalence of major and minor characters who smoke from 1985 was followed by an increase in the last decade.

Conclusion

Tobacco use is frequently portrayed in a popular prime-time German crime series, following a U curve over a 20 year period.

Introduction

The role that smoking in various media including movies and television might play in prompting smoking behaviour among the youth has drawn increasing attention by tobacco control experts in recent years (Wellman et al., 2006). Most of this research has focused on linking exposure to smoking in Hollywood movies to adolescent smoking. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies conducted in the U.S. (Dalton et al., 2003, IOM (Institute of Medicine), 2007, Song et al., 2007) as well as Germany (Hanewinkel and Sargent, 2007, Hanewinkel and Sargent, 2008) have assessed such exposure and have found a strong, independent association with smoking onset. Other studies in U.S. adolescents have linked smoking onset with smoking status of the adolescent's favourite Hollywood star (Distefan et al., 2004). The amount of television viewing in youth is also associated with later smoking (Hancox et al., 2004).

There has been some systematic analysis of tobacco imagery on television including the U.S. (Christenson et al., 2000, Hazan and Glantz, 1995, Long et al., 2002), Japan (Kanda et al., 2006, Sone, 1999), New Zealand (McGee and Ketchel, 2006), and Germany (Hanewinkel and Wiborg, 2007). One detailed content analysis of MTV's reality show The Osbournes shown in many countries indicated that television could deliver numerous messages related to substance use, with more depictions implying endorsement than rejection of use (Blair et al., 2005).

The present study was designed to examine the prevalence of the depiction of smoking in a German crime series over a 20 year period from 1985 to 2004. Within this time frame in Germany outdoor, point-of-sale, and cinema advertising of tobacco products was allowed, and ads were only forbidden in television and radio. Sponsorship of cultural and sports events (e.g. Formula 1) through tobacco companies frequently occurred, too.

Section snippets

Sample selection

In Germany there are several free-to-air television channels, including national and regional channels. The two main national state channels are Das Erste and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). One very popular crime series is “Ein Fall für Zwei“ (“A case for two”), which has been broadcasted since 1981 by the ZDF. Every episode of this series is 60 min long. According to a rating of the “Voluntary Self-Control of the Film Business” (“Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft”, FSK) “A

Results

Smoking occurrences were found in 97 of the 100 episodes. A total of 517 occurrences were counted (Mean 5.17 (SD = 4.4); Median = 5; Range: 0–34).

Fig. 1 presents the number of smoking occurrences per episode. Because each episode is 60 min, the values shown are number of smoking occurrences per hour. The fit shows a steady downward trend in smoking levels from 6.0 occurrences in 1985 (SD = 1.1), to a minimum of about 2.4 (SD = 0.9) occurrences in 1994, increasing to 5.0 occurrences in 2004 (SD = 1.2).

A

Discussion

Nearly every episode (97%) of a popular prime-time series shown on German state television and TV channels in other 59 countries included at least one scene with smoking occurrences, defined conservatively as active smoking or handling of tobacco products. Over the 20 year period from 1985 to 2004 data indicate a decline in smoking occurrences and characters smoking in this series in the first decade, but an increase in the last decade.

It is difficult to compare these figures with other studies

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Catharina Banneck, Lars Grabbe, Patrick Kruse, Asja Maass, Christa Panzlaff, James D. Sargent, Bilge Sayim, and Björn Sülter for their support with the content analysis and data preparation.

This study was financed by the Ministry of Health of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) generously provided us with video-taped copies of the episodes used in this study.

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