Common habit as smoking and movies

Since media is one of the major factors that bring up a child’s mind, the authorities are anxious about the information the teens get from TV, radio, Internet. There are several filters that allow caring parents control the videos watched by children or block the websites that would bring wrong message to teens.
All the films have ratings according to which a parent can decide if it is ok to show the movie to children. There are strict rules for language, violence, drugs and sex in films, but what about such common habit as smoking?

The research made by Dartmouth Medical School and Norris Cotton Cancer Center shows that one-third of the American teenagers start smoking because they learn it from movies. “We found that as the amount of exposure to smoking in movies increased, the rate of smoking also increased,” says Dr. James Sargent, one of the leaders of the research.
The other studies show 38% of 6,500 American teens under 14 say they were initiated to smoke by the way it is featured in movies. Another interesting thing is almost all smokers start the habit at their teens, but only 50% of them have enough strength to give it up.
AMAA has been protesting trying to make Hollywood stop advertising the bad habit in so many pictures and making them rate the films with smoking at adult rating: R in the USA. Although Motion Picture Association of America promised in 2007 to do something about exposure of smoking, there has not been much result.
Such popular latest summer movies among the teenagers as The Dark Knight, The Incredible Halk and Iron Man feature actors smoking cigars. Out of top box-office or rental movies there are G-rated ones with smoking like: 102 Dalmations, Muppets from Space, Tarzan; and PG-rated Atlantis: The Lost Empire, George of the Jungle and The Rainmaker.
One of the main fighters for smoke free movies is American Medical Association Alliance (AMAA). According to their studies more than half of the films which are connected to children or teens show the characters smoking. In more than 25% of them the actors feature lighting cigars.
The study shows while in 2002 57% of G, PG and PG-13 have some kind of smoking episodes, in 2007 this number went down only to 49%. It is not that big of a difference and Hollywood has to do better than that.
While a child is growing up it is up to parents to show a good example and talk about the harmful effect smoking does to a person’s body. Just because Mother or Father smoke doesn’t mean they should let the children decide to chose for themselves whether to have this habit or not. The talks about tobacco and smoking influence on person’s everyday life should be done with children while it is possible and they are young enough to accept the right point of view.