Our results confirm an association between this exposure and youth smoking in this country, indicating that raising the certification to 18 in the UK is likely to lower smoking rates among youth
Ever since the era of silent films, smoking has played a major part in film symbolism. Think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Robert De Niro in Goodfellas. But iconic scenes such as these could be damaging the health of teenagers, who are more likely to smoke after watching films depicting the habit. New research from the University of Bristol has revealed that 15-year-olds who saw the most films showing smoking were 73 per cent more likely to have tried a cigarette than those exposed to the least. They were also almost 50 per cent more likely to be a current smoker than those least exposed. And even after taking account of alcohol use and smoking among their peers, both of which are known to influence initiation of smoking, these teenagers were still 32 per cent more likely to have tried a cigarette themselves. The findings have prompted calls for film makers, regulators and politicians to review their policies on film classification for movies which glamorise smoking.
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