Measures to reduce smoking in films should penalise film and tobacco industries

doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7349.1338

BMJ 2002;324:1338 ( 1 June )

Letters

Measures to reduce smoking in films should penalise film and tobacco industries

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EDITOR $---$ By looking at adolescents Sargent et al studied the effect that seeing tobacco use in films had on their trying smoking.¹So many issues are not accounted for in this study that to basesweeping legislative proposals on its findings would beunwise.

For one thing, the correlation that the authors found may operate in reverse (that is, teenage smokers are more likely thannon-smokers to favour a variety of passive or thrill seeking behaviours,of which greater patronage of films depicting heavy smoking isonly one). In addition, this behaviour is mediated by more importantvariables (older and poorer youths both smoke more and have attendedmore of the types of films in which smoking isprevalent).

Evidence for this counter-hypothesis is seen in the study's finding that the odds ratio for smoking in the youths most exposedto films dropped dramatically, from 8.8 to 2.7, when selectedsociopersonal . . . [Full text of this article]

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Effect of seeing tobacco use in films on trying smoking among adolescents: cross sectional study: James D Sargent, Michael L Beach, Madeline A Dalton, Leila A Mott, Jennifer J Tickle, M Bridget Ahrens, and Todd F Heatherton
BMJ 2001 323: 1394. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Rapid Responses:

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Glantz responds: Stanton A. Glantz
bmj.com, 31 May 2002 [Full text]
Authors' reply: James D Sargent, et al.
bmj.com, 26 Jun 2002 [Full text]
Teen movie restrictions too intrusive: Mike A. Males
bmj.com, 1 Jul 2002 [Full text]