Looking at Rebecca Romijn's butt may be bad for you

NEWS RELEASE

ONTARIO TOBACCO-FREE NETWORK

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Smoking in youth-rated films can turn adolescents into smokers

TORONTO, Sept. 9 - According to a Dartmouth University medical study, viewing smoking scenes in movies can turn adolescents into smokers.

The study reports that more than one third of adolescents between 10 and 14 years of age who start smoking do so as a direct result of exposure to smoking in movies.

A review of last year's top movie releases shows that 58 percent of youth-rated films featured smoking scenes.

Of the top 100 box-office hits for each year from 1996-2004, 56 percent of smoking occurrences were portrayed in youth-rated films.

"Current research indicates that smoking in movies is strongly linked with youth taking up smoking during their adolescent years," says Irene Gallagher with the Ontario Tobacco-free Network.

The Ontario Tobacco-free Network sees this data as an opportunity to raise awareness among parents and youth regarding the impact of smoking in movies and the extent to which the tobacco industry will go to ensure youth see their favourite actors smoking.

Non-smoking teens whose favourite stars frequently smoke on screen are 16 times more likely to have positive attitudes about smoking in the future.

Paid tobacco product placement has been banned since 1998.

So why is tobacco still showing up in movies?

Tobacco kills 16,000 Ontarians each year and is the number one preventable cause of death in Ontario.

For more information on smoking in movies and for a copy of the Dartmouth medical study, visit www.theotn.org.

The OTN is a provincial interagency network consisting of the Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division (CCS), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario (HSFO) and The Ontario Lung Association (OLA).

The network is funded by the Ministry of Health Promotion and supported in-kind by CCS, HSFO, OLA and the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco (OCAT).

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