The Influence Of Smoking In Movies And Teens

Cigarettes are everywhere. These tiny objects that are held between the cusps of ones fingers hold unknown danger. They hold addictive substances and can lead to both immediate and long-term damage. Cigarettes used to be romanticized and glamourized by the media, but modern day campaigns have begun to reveal the truth about their dangerous effects. Through graphic imagery and audio choices, The Real Cost Campaign reaches out to young adults in order to demonstrate these consequences and render an emotional response of fear as well vanity by revealing an ugly side effect of smoking; distortion of skin.

Tobacco companies advertise in magazines, promote their products in convenience stores and market their brands through websites and social networks. Many of these tobacco industries get publicity and attract more young customers when using the newly in media to promote their products. Many of these tobacco companies don’t understand that tobacco advertising is a huge public health issue that increases smoking. Tobacco company advertising and promoting is the start of the use of tobacco among teenagers. Now, these media and magazine advertisements about cigars have caused teenagers to be exposed to cigarette advertising. Not only that but also these teenagers find ads appealing and also increase their desire to smoke. Cigarette companies spent about $8.37 billion on advertising and promotional expenses in the United States in 2011.

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)

Did you know that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that about 15% of adults in the U.S. use some variation of tobacco? Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, causing more than 480,000 deaths every year, which is approximately 1 of every 5 deaths.1 Award-winning youth tobacco prevention campaign launched by the Food and Drug Administration, The Real Cost, in their television advertisement, “Little Lungs in a Great Big World: Birthday”, describes the effect of tobacco on one's lungs through the use of satire, animation, and facts. The Real Cost’s purpose is to prevent youth from trying tobacco and to reduce tobacco use among youth already experimenting with tobacco. They use a satirical tone in order to start a conversation among youth about tobacco use and to capture their audience's attention to educate American youth on the health consequences of using tobacco.

For most of my life, the word “Native American” had immediately made me think of feathers, powwows, and a society uncorrupted by civilization. However, in watching the movie Smoke Signals, a movie that depicts the modern Native American culture, I learned many other things. For one, I learned that many of the customs that modern Native Americans have are very similar to my own. I also saw that the family life of the Native Americans in the film had many of the same problems that my family had undergone in the past years. This film was unlike any that I have ever seen; therefore, it reached me on a very personal level.

Many Americans can agree that they wouldn’t want their children being around cigarettes. However, there are still some parents out there that don’t provide the cleanest air around their young children. The advertisement used by the Child Health Foundation is used to show how young ones can die early because of these actions. Parents don’t realize how detrimental second-hand smoke is to their loved ones. This ad is effective in persuading the audience to be more cautious when smoking.

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

In fact, the tobacco industry has suffered ever since antismoking advertising has begun (Johnston, p. 107). According to statistics, 4 in every 10 Americans who are in 12th grade have tried cigarettes, and 1 in 10 consider themselves current smokers. As well as, 1 in 5, 8th graders have tried cigarettes, and 1 in 16 consider themselves current smokers (Johnston, p. 107). Now that society is aware of the harms of tobacco, it is important to decrease such rates of smoking amongst youth. Not only are there commercials about the risks of cigarette smoking, but also there are commercials that promote living above the influence of all drugs, including alcohol and marijuana. Lastly, as research continues to improve, and new drugs arise it is important to keep youth educated on the risks of using such drugs. It is important to keep our youth safe from the dangers of

     During the 1040's and 50's smoking was popular and socially acceptable. Movie stars, sports heroes, and celebrities appeared in cigarette advertisements that promoted and heavily influenced teens. Influence also came from Television and other media sources. The desires to be accepted and to feel grown up are among the most common reasons to start smoking. Yet, even though teenagers sometimes smoke to gain independence, and to be part of the crowd parental influence plays the strongest role as to whether or their children will smoke, Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), 1991. Children are exposed to and influenced by the parents, siblings, and the media long before peer pressure will become a factor. Mothers should not smoke during pregnancy, nicotine, which crosses the placental barrier, may affect the female fetus during an important period of development so as to predispose the brain to the addictive influence of

Mickey Mouse and Joe Camel had something very much in common in the early 90’s, and it was not that they were both cartoon characters. What they did have in common is that each was just as recognizable as the other among preschool aged children. RJ Reynolds used Old Joe Camel to market their Camel brand cigarettes from 1987 to 1997. While these Tobacco companies claim they were targeting adults with their Joe Camel advertisements, the marketing was much more successful with children than the intended adult audience. Although RJ Reynolds was sued, and forced to stop the use of the cartoon character, not much else has changed. According to the article “Tobacco Marketing Influence Youth Smoking”, the Tobacco Industry’s current marketing strategy has failed to shield today’s youth from its influence. Therefore, the Tobacco Industry’s marketing and advertising are currently conditioning children to start smoking at an early age, and continue into adulthood.

If warning kids of the future health risks of smoking is a successful way to keep them from smoking then why does the US Department of Health and Human Services report that 34% of Kentucky high school students smoke? It isn't. In fact, ads that focus on smoking health risks are proven to stimulate the rebellious and curious nature of youth (ScienceDaily 1).

In a recent study survey collecting amounts thousands of high school students, study shows that most are aware that heavy smoking is bad, but also fail to realize that life smoking and it's a meeti aware that heavy smoking is bad, but also fail to realize that life smoking and intermittent smoking is also bad. With products such as e-cigarette the glamorize smoke smoking but yet little research and no regulation on social media, is a big concern for health advocate. As of now the precise health risk and lack of manufacturing regulations is a major public concern and with that comes the debate of whether or not e-cigarette really is safer since there is little research or is it a case of innocent until proven guilty. According to the American health association it could possible be in the same category as nicotine patch and gone because of the low risk nicotine they contain. One thing that caught my eyes was the unpaid tobacco spokesperson ad shows showed celebrities smoking cigarettes. This got me thinking questioning whether or not celebrities have an obligation to eight teens, since they are impressionable and vulnerable and look up to the celebrities. I personally believe that they do have an obligation issued in fact along with companies such as legacy

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.

Though tobacco advertising has been monitered in the media, it still directly a cause for youth today to begin smoking and using tobacco products. The history of media's glorification of smoking is something of which cannot be erased and it is something impossible to shelter children from. Children's minds are easily manipulated and with smoking still shown in movies, its simple to influence their decisions and give off the wrong impressions on smoking. Stores even place ads for cigarettes at a level where young children cannot see them but that doesn't stop them from vieweing ads on televisions, magazines, or again from movies they are allowed to watch. Tobacco companies pay movie industries and directors to have their products shown in a movie which as a result both companies would recieve a lump amount of money for product endourcing.(Stanton ) It's easy for movie producers to agree to this because they'd end up with a lot of money just to simply have a box of cigaettes with the logo showing on table which seems harmless but it's not.

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.