Eliminating onscreen smoking could help cut teen tobacco use by 18 pc

Melbourne - Killing the “cool” factor of cigarettes and increasing the classification rating for films depicting smoking would have a dramatic impact on youth tobacco usage, suggest researchers.

Stubbing out smoking in films aimed at teenagers could help slash the rate of tobacco use by up to 18 per cent, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics.

Cinematic smoking is a potent risk factor for teenagers, with every 500 smoking shots increasing the likelihood of trying a cigarette by up to 49 per cent.

Top grossing films such as ‘Iron Man’, ‘Mission Impossible 2’, ‘Men In Black’ and ‘101 Dalmatians’ were among the hits watched by the 6500 children in the study.

“Hollywood plays a role by making smoking look really good,” the Daily Telegraph quoted lead researcher James Sargent, of the Norris Cotton Cancer Centre, as saying.

“By eliminating smoking in movies marketed to youth (it would) lower adolescent smoking by as much as one-fifth,” he noted.

Though researchers urged smoke-heavy flicks be given a higher classification rating, they say parents also needed to help steer teens away from danger.

“Authoritative parents” who are “effective in monitoring their children” have a strong track record in lowering tobacco use, the study found.

“It is also important to motivate and assist parents in restricting access to these movies, which would further reduce adolescent exposure to onscreen smoking,” the researchers wrote.