WASHINGTON -- A comprehensive report released today from the National Cancer Institute - the
leading federal federal agency on cancer research - provides the government's strongest conclusion to date on the media's powerful and causal effect on baccy use.
(Lisa Peardon/Digital Vision/Getty Images)
The report, Monograph 19 - The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use, concluded what we in public health have known for many years: depictions of
smoking in movies and tobacco marketing advance youth smoking.These facts ar nonetheless illuminating because they are now
recognized for the number 1 time as fact by our federal government.
The story provides the ammunition to tobacco control advocates
around the world who are fighting to keep movies smoke-free. While
the entertainment industry has interpreted positive steps to respond to
the growing international Smoke-Free Movies movement, in that respect is
still some disbelief on the part of many influencers in the
entertainment diligence as to the magnitude of the effect picture
smoking has on early days smoking initiation.
The fact that the federal
government in this report is pointing out a causal connection should
provide impetus for decision-makers to take the bold step to remove
smoking from youth-rated films, once and for all.
The report as well lends further credibility to existing media
campaigns that have been proven to curb youth smoking, such as the
foundation's award-winning truth(R) hunting expedition. In its first deuce
years, truth(R) was credited with 22 percent of the refuse in
youth smoking, simply the annual budget for truth(R) is less than the
$36 million our competitors in the tobacco industry spend in barely
24 hours to securities industry their lethal products to consumers in the U.S.
Obviously, in a rapidly changing digital landscape,
understanding the role of media in reducing or promoting tobacco
use is critically important as we continue working to fight the
tobacco plant epidemic. With limited resources, the truth(R) campaign is
reaching teens from big cities to rural towns in ways we didn't
imagine 10 years ago.
Youth get a dose of truth(R) on social
networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, on the road at popular
teen concerts throughout the summer and through ads on television
and in theaters prior to movies.
More info
