Teenagers aged 10 to 19 were surveyed about their smoking habits and their attitudes toward smoking. These were scored on a five-point scale. The teens were also asked to name their favorite movie star. Portrayal of on-screen smoking by the 43 selected movie stars between 1994 and 1996 was also assessed.

Altogether, 632 students from five rural New England schools took part.

Teens whose favorite stars smoked in films were more likely to score higher on the five-point scale than teens who chose stars who did not smoke.

And the more a star portrayed smoking, the more favorably the adolescent viewed smoking. Teens whose favorite stars smoked in two films were 1.5 times more likely to score on the upper end of the scale, while those whose favorite stars smoked in three or more films were three times as likely to do so.

Almost two thirds of the movie stars used tobacco at least once during the period of the study. And four out of 10 portrayed smoking as an essential character trait in one or more films.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Sharon Stone and John Travolta clocked the highest number of "smoker" roles, portraying smoking in four films over the period of the study.

Among teens who had never smoked, those who chose stars who smoked in three or more films were 16 times as likely to express favorable opinions about smoking than those who chose "non-smoking" stars.

Stars who smoke may therefore encourage teens to try out smoking, suggest the authors, who conclude: "We believe this evidence strongly suggests that media portrayals of tobacco use by popular movie stars contribute to adolescent smoking,"

(Reference: TOBACCO CONTROL, Favourite movie stars, their tobacco use in contemporary movies, and its association with adolescent smoking 2001;10: 16-22.)

[Contact: Sue Knapp]

26-Feb-2001