Parents, new information has just surfaced that may lead you to rethink the movies you are letting your kids see. Incidents of smoking and tobacco use have surged in movies targeted to teens, a new study by the CDC finds.
According to the new report that tracked such instances from 2010-2016, portrayal of tobacco use in PG-13 movies has jumped 43 percent.
“The U.S. Surgeon General – based on years of published scientific data – concluded in 2012 that depictions of smoking in the movies cause young people to start smoking,” a University of California — San Francisco release about the new findings says. “The 2012 report also notes that youth who are heavily exposed to images onscreen of smoking are two to three times as likely to begin smoking as youth who receive little exposure.”
The new study is part of an ongoing effort to get an R-rating for any movie that includes tobacco incidents.
According to the report, the biggest offenders in order are Sony, Fox, and Time Warner. Disney and Paramount accounted for the lowest amount of incidents.
“Easier access, coupled with a growing number of tobacco images in film, means more and more young people will be put at risk of a lifetime addiction, disease and possibly an early death,” Nancy Brown, head of the American Heart Association, told the Daily Mail.
It’s just one more reason to closely monitor what your kids watch.
