|
Teens influenced by movie
star smokers
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Feb. 26, 2001 --
Teen smokers are more likely to take up smoking if their favorite
movie stars smoke, according to new smoking prevention research.
And most of the biggest movie stars used tobacco
at least once during the period of the study, with Leonardo DiCaprio,
Sharon Stone, and John Travolta clocking the highest number of
smoker roles.
A research team led by Jennifer Tickle of
Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire published the survey
results in the March issue of the journalTobacco Control by
.
"We believe this evidence strongly suggests
that media portrayals of tobacco use by popular movie stars contribute
to adolescent smoking," said the authors in a prepared statement.
Altogether 632 students, aged 10 to 19, from
five rural New England schools took part in the study between
1994 and 1996. At the same time 43 selected movie stars were
assessed for on-screen portrayals of smoking.
The students were surveyed about their smoking
habits and their attitudes toward smoking. Their responses were
scored on a five point scale. The teens were also asked to name
their favorite movie star.
Teens whose favorite stars smoked in films
were more likely to score higher on the five point scale than
teens whose 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.
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.
|