US: Puffing Tobacco has Doubled in Movie Scenes over Two Years

Source from:  Mackay Daily Mercury  05/15/2013

SMOKING scenes in youth-rated films has doubled between 2010 and 2012, returning to levels of a decade ago, a new study has found.

According to the report funded by Legacy (a non-profit, anti-smoking foundation based in Washington, D.C, USA), half of 2012's youth-rated movies, delivered an estimated 14.8 billion tobacco impressions to theater audiences, a 169% increase from 2010 (impressions are tobacco incidents multiplied by number of tickets sold per film).

"Movies may be more powerful than traditional tobacco ads," Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, president and chief executive of Legacy said.

"We know that the more smoking that youth see in movies, the more likely they are to smoke."

Films with high levels of smoking included The Hobbit, Lincoln, Taken 2, Skyfall and Men in Black 3. Enditem