Essay on The Impact of Media on Teenagers

According to “The Action of Smoking and Health,” every six seconds someone loses their life as a result of a tobacco related disease. It’s hard to realize how damaging cigarette smoking’s effect can be until you experience it first hand. It is almost certain that every one knows someone who is currently a smoker or was a smoker at some point in their life. For years smoking was the seen as the “cool” thing to do, it was how to “fit in.” There was no real emphasis placed on the dangers of this particular habit, and as a result, it became a world wide trend. In the past, technology and medicine were not nearly advanced enough to be able to determine just how harmful tobacco usage is. However, as we have made medical and

1950s’ America was a society that is often described as “booming”. After our glorious victory in World War II, there was no better time to be an American. The economy of the country was booming, suburbs were being built at an unparalleled rate, and our country was in the middle of the famous, considered by some to be infamous, baby boom. America was unarguably on the rise. One famous symbol of this patriotic time in our history was the cigarette. In the 50s cigarettes did not have nearly as bad as a connotation associated with them. In fact, cigarettes were the epitome of symbols that represented the lifestyle of the rich and famous, or some seemingly unachievable level of societal excellence. During this period, it would be almost impossible to find some of Hollywood’s elite without a cigarette in hand. Also, it is worth noting that during this period, cigarettes were much cheaper to buy than today, even considering shifts in inflation. In the year 1949, with possible threats of scientific research exposing the danger of cigarettes, Camel Cigarettes released an infamous commercial that provides us as viewers today a glimpse of the hold cigarettes had on society in the time period.

Usually, on television shows or on magazine articles there has to be an advertisement promoting cigarettes. Not only does the tobacco industry encourage teenagers to start smoking, but it enforces smoking to continue well on into their adulthood.

Today the tobacco industry is barred from directly recruiting celebrities to endorse smoking. Therefore, tobacco companies have begun to use covert advertising in movies. This has proven to be a very profitable tactic for the tobacco companies. Covert advertising in films have helped the tobacco industry to target new users of tobacco. In this type of advertising cigarette makers receive more advertising time for their money than just a quick glance of a cigarette pack or an advertising billboard. In almost every movie with covert cigarette advertising, there are scenes in which a few of the characters smoke; typically these characters are smoking in a manner that glamorizes the use of tobacco. (Tye, J. 2010)

According to the surgeon general, young people who see smoking portrayed in movies are 2-3 times more likely to start smoking themselves. One of the goals of the Healthy People 2020 program is to reduce onscreen smoking in movies and TV shows, especially in youth-rated material, which is rated as G, PG, and PG-13. From 2005 to 2010, there was a steady decrease in the number of onscreen smoking incidents in these films, but this decline stopped after 2010. If the decline had continued, all youth-rated films would have contained no smoking incidents by 2015. That would have meant a huge reduction in teen smoking.

During the 1920's, smoking tobacco had been documented as hazardous to peoples health as studies had linked lung cancer patients were more commonly smokers. Since the 1920's various other studies had significant evidence to claim other health risks with pregnant women, children and the affects of second hand smoke on others. After all these studies came the debate on whether smoking should or should not be continued in a workplace.

Unhealthy habits were not questioned in the 1960’s. Consequently, as long as everyone got along and looked the part an unhealthy habit was ignored. Advertisement dominated many people's decision making reasoning. If people saw an ad encouraging smoking they wanted to smoke as well. You never second guessed what you were told or else you were thought of as a rebel or someone who went against the grains of society. Such as Smoking in the 1960’s was the thing to do; it was not questioned. It would be equivalent to owning a cell phone today or not owning one. You are considered odd if you didn’t follow along. Roger Sterling is one character in Mad Men rarely seen without a glass of vodka in his hand even at work. Drinking and smoking on the job was the social norm, as long as everyone behaved, it was accepted.

Only those young adults who admired these actors and smoked haveto suffer the cost of idolizing. Since there is no positive effect when smoking a pack of cigarette, the companies can only glamourize tobacco and lure young adults to purchase them. In early 1900s, many critiques have questioned the health effect of smoking and held

The 1950s was a changing time for America. Emerging from World War II, Americans were feeling a sense of security. Starting the age of baby boomers and many other culture changes, it was also the age of cigarettes, tobacco, and smoking. While other companies took the liberty of doctors and celebrities to promote their cigarettes, Lucky Strike Cigarettes took a different approach. They gained their audience’s attention by alliteration, repetition, and appealing to their hearts to sell their cigarettes.

Programs and interventions geared toward health behavior have changed vastly over the last 40 years. Starting in the 1970's and gradually into the 80's, additional research was gathered on behavior attributed to health risks such as smoking, drinking, and unhealthy diets. Information and education campaigns were on small scale individual level mainly coming from physicians informing their patients. The push toward quitting smoking was forthright at the start then citizens became less interested in in maintaining a healthy lifestyle as they viewed the task very difficult. As stated in the show "Mad Men" everyone else's cigarettes cause cancer our tobacco is "toasted". In the 1980's the smoking prevention campaigns gained traction and grew towards

Reality Check of Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben counties joined youth around the world to create awareness about the way Hollywood movies encourage youth to use tobacco. The

Advertising for tobacco is another source that cause teenagers smoke and adults smoke. Recently, tobacco companies have found new ways to promote their products to youth. They support their sporting events, concerts and movie. Many people favor idols or stars smoke in the movies and they seems very cool. And Teenagers are curious about imitation. Smoke containing nicotine acts as a stimulant to the brain. Nicotine in the bloodstream acts to make the smoker feel calm. In fact, nicotine is a lethal poison, affecting the heart, blood vessels, and hormones. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds. More than 60 of these are known or suspected to cause cancer. What is more, secondhand smoke can be harmful in many ways and it ruins thousands of non-smoking people, children's health. The US Surgeon General and the US Food and Drug Administration are among those who have examined the evidence and concluded that tobacco advertising does increase overall consumption. If we ban adverts on tobacco products, they will gradually lose their appeal, because they won't symbolize anything "cool", "smart" or "amazing". Tobacco products will become ordinary consumption goods and thus the number of young people who take up smoking in order to "be somebody" will decrease.

b. Sub-point B: Another cause, can also be influenced by social media, newspaper, and TV.Jeff Carpenter wrote on ABC News article,on November 1st, 2001, he states “the tobacco industry has altered its advertising, ads still lure teens into buying tobacco products”. Advertisements would target viewers to earn more money. Tobacco companies stopped outdoor billboards, but have taken these advertising dollars and put them into local convenience stores.

The author Rachel Kranz in “Straight Talk About Smoking,’ states, “Smoking more means that Lynette has less to spend on pizza and after-school snacks, because she’s got to make sure she can afford three or four packs of cigarettes each week.” (Kranz). Peer pressure to smoke can also be a way of teenagers proving that they are mature. Maturity is something that all teenagers have been told to obtain; especially by adults. The legal smoking age in most states is twenty-one, and most adults do smoke. Teenagers think that they can feel more grown up when they smoke and fit in society. Kaz Vorpal in the book of “Teen Smoking,’” states, “Adults do certain things, and therefore children who do those things feel they are more like grownups.” (Vorpal 66). Movies also contributes to teen smoking by portraying smoking as a cool, pleasurable, and harmless thing. All these factors give the teen a pressure to start smoking and never realize that the Nicotine that is found in the cigarette is addictive and causes major health problems like cancer.

Smoking tobacco has been a part of American culture since its very conception. Throughout our history, tobacco has been advertised as a simple pleasure for those who seek it out. Whether you are sitting on the porch with a couple of friends or in a dimly lit jazz club, tobacco ads give off a false sense of comfort, power, and success. Until around the mid-1900’s, smoking cigarettes was not considered unhealthy. It was only later that the public realize the detrimental health consequences that came with smoking tobacco. To spread this information, specific advertisements were aired to help inform the public of the dangers of smoking. While these ads have changed over time, the same message and warning still remains evident.