HHS HealthBeat (March 30, 2009)

Watch Now, Smoke Later

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

What kids see in the movies may affect how they live – and maybe die. Researchers say nonsmoking 10- to 14-year-olds who saw more smoking in movies were more likely to become established smokers as older teens or young adults.

At Dartmouth Medical School, researcher Madeline Dalton looked at telephone survey data on close to 1,800 young people, with an average age of almost 19 years. She says those who saw the most smoking while younger were twice as likely as those who saw the least to develop the smoking habit.

[Madeline Dalton speaks] ``The data suggest that eliminating children’s exposure to movie smoking would reduce the number of adults who ultimately become addicted smokers by more than one third.’’

The study in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: March, 30 2009