From: [C upi] at [clari.net] (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.news.issues.smoking,clari.news.issues,clari.news.issues.misc
Subject: Study looks at smoking in TV, movies
Keywords: tv & radio, broadcasting, movies, social issues, smoking, trends,
domestic trends
Organization: Copyright 1996 by United Press International
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 1996 17:30:59 PDT
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Tobacco use, primarily cigarette
smoking, is shown in movies about five times more often than in episodes
of TV comedy and drama series, according to a study released Thursday by
the American Lung Association.
The ``Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down!'' survey, aimed at measuring how much
exposure young people receive to smoking through TV and movies, was
based on the observations of more than 100 teenagers in Los Angeles and
Sacramento, Calif., who were asked to monitor TV and movies over an 18-
month period.
The teenage viewers monitored 150 hours of primetime programming --
238 episodes of drama and comedy series in all -- and found that only 36
episodes or 15 percent portrayed tobacco use.
According to the review of 133 current movies in the time span, 77
percent depicted tobacco use -- an average of 10.4 incidents of tobacco
use per hour compared with 1.97 incidents per hour on television.
Among the major TV networks, Fox, the network that boasts the
youngest average audience, displayed the most tobacco use. The study
said 73 percent of Fox series viewed showed tobacco use in at least one
episode, compared with 44 percent on NBC, 38 percent on ABC and 33
percent on CBS. On a per-hour basis, Fox had 2.67 incidents, NBC had 1.
74, CBS had 1.67 and ABC 1.33.
The study also found that smoking is more likely to be seen in
serious situations than funny ones, with 21 percent of drama episodes
showing tobacco use compared with 12 percent of situation comedies.
In TV shows lead actors and actresses are less likely to be seen
using tobacco than extras were. However, in movies the lead players were
more likely to use tobacco than extras were.
In the television shows monitored that showed tobacco use, cigarette
smoking was seen in 67 percent, cigar smoking in 42 percent and pipe
smoking in 3 percent. None showed chewing tobacco.
Of the movies that depicted tobacco use, 86 percent showed
cigarettes, 52 percent showed cigars, 12 percent had pipes and 7 percent
had chewing or dipping tobacco.
The study, paid for with a grant from the state of California's anti-
smoking awareness programming, was released as the American Lung
Association announced its first-ever Phlemmy Awards for TV shows that
sent what the organization sees as the wrong message regarding smoking.
ABC cop drama ``NYPD Blue'' received a Phlemmy for an episode in
which Dennis Franz's character resumes drinking and smoking after his
son's murder, and NBC's ``Homicide: Life on the Street'' was targeted
for its frequent depiction of smoking during stakeouts and
interrogations.
In two CBS shows -- ``Cybill'' and ``Chicago Hope'' -- characters
celebrated achievements by breaking out cigars, but the association gave
them Phlemmys instead.
It wasn't all bad news, though. Pink Lung Awards were presented to
``Frasier,'' ``The X-Files'' and ``Murphy Brown'' for episodes that
dealt with the subject in a way that the association favored.
Smoking ads have been banned from television since 1972, and since
then the American Lung Association and other concerned organizations
have been watching entertainment programs and movies for pro-smoking
messages they see as harmful.
``We believe that the glamorous use of smoking on TV and in movies
has contributed to the increase of smoking among our youth,'' Robert
Berliner, a lung association board member, said Thursday.
Meanwhile, many filmmakers and TV producers say there is a fine line
between social responsibility and artistic license and express concern
that some characters and situations in TV shows and movies would not
ring true without smoking.