Background-The average child spends as much time viewing movies and television as he spends in school. Tobacco use is ubiquitous in movies, yet its impact on adolescent smoking has not been studied before. We hypothesize that exposure to tobacco use in movies is a causal element in the initiation of adolescent smoking. Preliminary Work- Our 4-year study resulted in a content analysis measuring the amount and context of tobacco use in over 600 popular contemporary movies. We found tobacco depictions in 95 percent of the movies and brand appearances in 28 percent. We linked these data with responses from a cross-sectional study of over 5000 5th - 8th grade students. In a multivariate analysis, adolescent exposure to tobacco use in movies was associated with adolescent smoking and, among never smokers, it was associated with attitudes that predict future smoking.
Specific Aims -The goal of this proposal is to better understand the relationship between viewing tobacco use in movies and adolescent smoking. To accomplish this, we plan to continue the content analysis of popular contemporary films through the year 2005 and conduct a two-year longitudinal telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 3000 adolescents. This survey will enable us to describe adolescents' exposure to tobacco use in contemporary films over time and to determine if this exposure predicts smoking uptake. Methods-Adolescents will be surveyed semiannually about their smoking status, exposure to a sample of recently released popular movies, and a number of other factors related to adolescent smoking. Each survey will contain a unique subset of movies, randomly selected from top box-office hits and video rentals released within six months prior to the survey. The primary outcome will be the transition from never smoker to experimenter. Secondary analyses will be conducted to examine whether exposure to movie tobacco use influences attitudes among never smokers and influences experimenters to become established smokers. We will also evaluate differences in movie exposure among whites, African Americans, and Latinos. Significance- This is the first prospective study to evaluate the public health implications of depicting tobacco use in movies. Because our study involves a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents, data from this survey will enable us to determine the number of cases of youth smoking in the United States that are attributable to exposure to tobacco use in popular, contemporary movies.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01CA077026-09
Application #
7069494
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-SNEM-1 (01))
Program Officer
Vollinger, Robert
Project Start
1997-09-30
Project End
2007-10-30
Budget Start
2006-05-01
Budget End
2007-10-30
Support Year
9
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$482,201
Indirect Cost
Name
Dartmouth College
Department
Pediatrics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
041027822
City
Hanover
State
NH
Country
United States
Zip Code
03755
McClure, Auden C; Gabrielli, Joy; Sargent, James D et al. (2018) Aspirational Brand Choice and Underage Alcohol Use. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 79:408-416
Soneji, Samir; Yang, JaeWon; Moran, Meghan Bridgid et al. (2018) Engagement with Online Tobacco Marketing Among Adolescents in the US: 2013-2014 to 2014-2015. Nicotine Tob Res :
Gilbert-Diamond, D; Emond, J A; Lansigan, R K et al. (2017) Television food advertisement exposure and FTO rs9939609 genotype in relation to excess consumption in children. Int J Obes (Lond) 41:23-29
Morgenstern, Matthis; Stoolmiller, Mike; Bergamini, Elaina et al. (2017) Did limits on payments for tobacco placements in US movies affect how movies are made? Tob Control 26:105-108
Peña, Lorena; Lorenzo-Blanco, Elma I; Pérez, Adriana et al. (2017) Parental Style and Its Association With Substance Use in Argentinean Youth. Subst Use Misuse 52:518-526
Soneji, Samir; Primack, Brian A; Pierce, John P et al. (2017) Re: Modeling the Effects of E-cigarettes on Smoking Behavior: Implications for Future Adult Smoking Prevalence. Epidemiology 28:e1
Sargent, James D; Gabrielli, Joy; Budney, Alan et al. (2017) Adolescent smoking experimentation as a predictor of daily cigarette smoking. Drug Alcohol Depend 175:55-59
Mejia, Raul; Pérez, Adriana; Peña, Lorena et al. (2017) Smoking in Movies and Adolescent Smoking Initiation: A Longitudinal Study among Argentinian Adolescents. J Pediatr 180:222-228
Gabrielli, Joy; Traore, Aminata; Stoolmiller, Mike et al. (2016) Industry Television Ratings for Violence, Sex, and Substance Use. Pediatrics 138:
Mejia, Raul; Pérez, Adriana; Abad-Vivero, Erika N et al. (2016) Exposure to Alcohol Use in Motion Pictures and Teen Drinking in Latin America. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 40:631-7

Showing the most recent 10 out of 98 publications