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| If you're involved in what goes onto a movie or television screen, there are three facts you should know: |
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Every day in the U.S. nearly 4,400 youth ages 12 to 17 try their first cigarette, and nearly half will become regular smokers. 1 |
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A Dartmouth study shows that 50 percent of youth smoking initiation can be traced to exposure to smoking in movies. 2 |
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One-third of youth who smoke will eventually die from a tobacco-related disease. 3 |
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As an actor, director, producer, writer or art director, why should you care? Well, the choices you make on-screen can influence the choices young people make, especially when it comes to smoking. According to studies, teenagers are more likely to try smoking if their favorite movie stars smoke on-screen. 4 5 And movies and television can impact young people in ways that adults don't even think about. Young teens and pre-teens (ages 12-14) are significantly more likely to report awareness of smoking portrayals on-screen than young adults. 6
Despite this, 80 percent of PG-13 movies and 50 percent of G and PG movies include smoking. 7 And young people with the highest exposure to smoking are nearly three times more likely to start smoking than those with the least exposure. 8
Is that the kind of lasting impression that you want your performance to have? If not, we invite you to join us.
Who are we? We are you. We are the Entertainment Industry Foundation coming together with the Motion Picture Association of America, the Directors Guild of America, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the Screen Actors Guild, and the International Alliance for Theatrical Stage Employees to create Hollywood Unfiltered: The Entertainment Industry Foundation's Initiative to Reduce Tobacco's Influence. It's a campaign that takes seriously Hollywood's social responsibility when it comes to depicting smoking in movies and television, and we're working to educate our fellow members of the entertainment community about how on-screen smoking impacts young people.
It's also a campaign that respects and upholds the right to artistic freedom and expression. We do not endorse an R-rating for smoking. Nor do we think actors, directors, or writers should be told what they can and cannot do. Instead, we hope that you will take a moment to read why this campaign needs your help and consider what you can do to make a real difference when it comes to kids.
1 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Trends in Initiation of Substance Abuse. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2003.
2 Dalton, Sargent et al, "Effect of viewing smoking in movies on adolescent smoking initiation: A cohort study," The Lancet, 2003.
3 CDC, Projected Smoking-Related Deaths Among Youth United States, MMWR 1996, Vol. 45, No. 44.
4 Distefan JM, Gilpin EA, Sargent JD, Pierce JP. Do movie stars encourage adolescents to start smoking? Evidence from California. Prev Med 1999; 28: 1-11.
5 Tickle JJ, Sargent JD, Dalton MA, Beach ML, Heatherton TF. Favorite movie stars, their tobacco use in contemporary movies and its association with adolescent smoking. Tobacco Control 2001; 10: 16-22.
6 First Look 12 Report. "Exposure to Pro-tobacco Messages among Teens and Young Adults: Results from Three National Surveys." November 2003.
7 Polansky, JR, Glantz, SA 2004 "First-Run Smoking Presentations in US Movies 1999-2003". University of California San Francisco Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education.
8 Dalton, Sargent et al, "Effect of viewing smoking in movies on adolescent smoking initiation: A cohort study," The Lancet, 2003.
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