Take Smoking Out Of Kids' Movies - Australian Medical Association

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 19 Mar 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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On National Youth Tobacco Free Day, the AMA is calling for a higher classification to be given to films with positive depictions of smoking.

The AMA has written to the Federal Attorney General, Robert McClelland, and to the Classification Board, requesting a classification system that provides clear warnings about the extent and nature of smoking in films.

AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said today that health groups had been calling for changes to the classification system for years and it was now time for the regulatory authorities to stop talking and take action.

"We already have clear warnings for coarse language, nudity, and violence - why not smoking, which we know is a serious health risk?" Dr Capolingua said.

"These films are normalising and promoting a habit that will kill half of the children and teenagers who take it up.

"Evidence is increasingly showing that any depictions of smoking can have an influence on younger viewers and they rarely depict the true consequences of smoking.

"No parent wants their child to smoke, but smoking is pervasive in films classified as appropriate for children and young teens."

Dr Capolingua said the long life of movies through TV repeats and DVD distribution meant that smoking classifications and warnings can have an impact outside cinemas.

"If films with positive or pervasive smoking can't be viewed by children and young teens, filmmakers will hopefully think twice before they include smoking in their films," Dr Capolingua said.

"Smoking is not a necessary part of most films, and the film industry doesn't need to act like a de facto affiliate of the tobacco industry."

Studies from Australia and overseas have shown that on-screen smoking influences children's attitudes and behaviour to the extent that it can increase a child's chance of becoming a smoker later in life.

A Cancer Council of New South Wales listing of the top box office films in Australia in late February to early March of this year revealed 70 per cent of the films contained depictions of smoking. The 'smoking' films included 75 per cent of the most popular PG-rated films.

According to research by the American Lung Association, more than two-thirds of the 50 top US box office films of 2004-05 classified for children's viewing depicted smoking - some with as many as 14 depictions of smoking an hour.

According to the Australian Film Commission, 85 per cent of Australians aged 14 to 24 went to the cinema in 2006, seeing an average of nine films a year.

The AMA is calling for a range of strategies to tackle smoking in films including:

-- films that are seen by young viewers should not depict smoking, except where the negative consequences of smoking are depicted or where it is portrayed in an historical context,
-- films that depict smoking should attract an appropriate descriptor such as 'pervasive smoking',
-- screening anti-smoking announcements before films that depict smoking, and
-- guidelines that ensure public funds are not used to support Australian films that glamorise or promote smoking.

http://www.ama.com.au

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