Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2009 Feb;18(1):47-53.
doi: 10.1136/tc.2008.026153. Epub 2008 Oct 23.

Comparing the effects of entertainment media and tobacco marketing on youth smoking

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparing the effects of entertainment media and tobacco marketing on youth smoking

J D Sargent et al. Tob Control. 2009 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the concurrent effects of exposure to movie smoking and tobacco marketing receptivity on adolescent smoking onset and progression.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 4524 northern New England adolescents aged 10-14 in 1999 with longitudinal follow-up of 2603 baseline never-smokers. Cross-sectional outcomes included ever tried smoking and higher level of lifetime smoking among 784 experimenters. The longitudinal outcome was onset of smoking among baseline never-smokers two years later. Movie smoking exposure was modelled as four population quartiles, tobacco marketing receptivity included two levels-having a favourite tobacco advert and wanting/owning tobacco promotional items. All analyses controlled for sociodemographics, other social influences, personality characteristics of the adolescent and parenting style.

Results: In the full cross-sectional sample, 17.5% had tried smoking; both exposure to movie smoking and receptivity to tobacco marketing were associated with having tried smoking. Among experimental smokers, the majority (64%) were receptive to tobacco marketing, which had a multivariate association with higher level of lifetime smoking (movie smoking did not). In the longitudinal study 9.5% of baseline never-smokers tried smoking at follow-up. Fewer never-smokers (18.5%) were receptive to tobacco marketing. Movie smoking had a multivariate association with trying smoking (receptivity to tobacco marketing did not).

Conclusions: The results suggest separate roles for entertainment media and tobacco marketing on adolescent smoking. Both exposures deserve equal emphasis from a policy standpoint.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Wellman RJ, Sugarman DB, DiFranza JR, et al. The extent to which tobacco marketing and tobacco use in films contribute to children’s use of tobacco: a meta-analysis. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:1285–96. - PubMed
    1. Master Settlement Agreement. 1998. Available online at http://ag.ca.gov/tobacco/pdf/1msa.pdf.
    1. National Cancer Institute. The role of the media in prompting and reducing tobacco use, Tobacco Control Monograph No 19. Bethesda, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health; Jun, 2008. NIH Publication No 07-6242.
    1. McGuire WJ. Attitudes and attitude change. In: Lindzey G, Aronson E, editors. Handbook of social psychology. 3. New York: Random House; 1985. pp. 233–346.
    1. Evans N, Farkas A, Gilpin E, et al. Influence of tobacco marketing and exposure to smokers on adolescent susceptibility to smoking. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995;87:1538–45. - PubMed

Publication types