Cigar smoke wafts into children's movies
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

Health groups are fuming at Hollywood's continued taste for smoking.
A new study by the American Medical Association Alliance, the volunteer branch of the AMA, finds that over the past six years more than half of the movies geared toward children feature characters smoking. In more than a quarter of the movies, actors light up cigars.

And officials say the Motion Picture Association of America has failed to deliver on its vow last year to weigh smoking in the ratings process.

Among the latest study's findings:

•Since 2002, out of 617 movies rated G, PG or PG-13, 57% have featured smoking; since 2007, when the MPAA's stricter policy took effect, 49% have featured smoking.

•Out of 441 movies rated PG-13, 296, or 67%, have featured smoking of some kind. That number has dropped to 56% since last year.

Sandi Frost, president of the AMAA, says the group launched the study after noticing that most of the teen-oriented summer blockbusters, including Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight, featured cigar smoking.

"Hollywood has not responded to the call of the public to reduce the images of tobacco," she says. The MPAA "hasn't fulfilled its promise."

MPAA spokesman Seth Oster takes issue with the study. He says his organization's own four-year analysis of 3,400 films found that of the 1,938 movies that featured smoking, 75% were rated R. In addition, he notes, the MPAA has added phrases such as "glamorizes smoking" and "pervasive smoking" in its ratings. "We have incorporated smoking as a factor on par with other issues like language, violence and sexual situations," Oster says. "The motion picture industry takes very seriously the issue of smoking in films."

The AMAA and American Lung Association are pushing for any film with smoking — other than a biographical film or a movie addressing the dangers of tobacco — to get an automatic R rating, which requires anyone under 17 be accompanied by an adult.

"Hollywood has been bombarding people with smoking messages for decades," says Paul Billings, vice president of national policy and advocacy for the lung association. "But they're still allowed to send the wrong signal to kids, who are seeing their heroes smoking."

http://www.usatoday.com/l...htm?csp=34

I think giving a movie an "R" rating for smoking is going a little too far. What do you think?

by this logic, movies with scenes depicting drinking should be rated R too.

i think it creates a really gross precedent.

by this logic, movies with scenes depicting drinking should be rated R too.

i think it creates a really gross precedent.

Anxiety said:

I can understand that, but I believe it's been said that there are some health benefits to moderate drinking (like red wine) while any amount of cigarette smoke is harmful. That's probably why one vice is singled out and not the other.

No.

It's not like kids don't see people smoking outside every single day (indoor smoking is banned in all public buildings/clubs here - and should be).

Movies shouldn't be the ones teaching kids right from wrong...parents should be.

One thing I'll say as an ex-smoker, however, is that movies with tons of smoking make me want to smoke, and even moreso when I was a smoker or had just quit.

I don't think it affected me as a kid, though.

NDRU said:

Well that makes sense from the perspective of someone who'd already made the choice to smoke. But I don't believe that it would influence someone who chooses not to smoke, to do so. I think peer influence plays a much bigger part in that than say, Keanu Reeves.

Movies "geared toward children" feature smoking? I have never seen a movie that was truly geared toward children that featured smoking.

No. We can't shield everything from our kids and they will see bad things practically everywhere you go. I think the parent should teach the child that smoking is bad for you, but that we can't always control what other people do.

Genesia said:

The Superman movies.

sextonseven said:

but drinking is illegal for minors. drunk driving has no health benefits.

i see your point, but it's really easy to play devil's advocate against it.

I laugh at any actor that says, "My character smoked in real life so I have to smoke in the movie to stay true to the character". Bullshit. TOTAL bullshit. Having a cigarette in one's mouth has no bearing on jack shit. NONE. Just be honest and admit that you are smoking in the film because the tobacco company paid you to smoke.