One of every 3 teenagers start smoking cigarettes for movies containing images related to snuff, warned yesterday the World Health Organization. The evidence collected through different studies served to recommend that each country should establish a rating system to alert viewers if the films and TV series include scenes in which actors smoke. The scenes showing smoking or snuff products would be only for adults.
“The films expose millions of teenagers to follow characters who consume snuff, as role models. It is shown that not only promotes smoking initiation, but was a deliberate strategy of the tobacco industry to reach younger audiences, “he told Clarin James Sangent, pediatrician and scientist at Dartmouth Institute in the United States, which was one of the they developed the WHO report. Sangent was present yesterday at a conference in Capital, together with researchers from the Pan American Health Organization, the Center for the Study of State and Society (CEDES) and the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico.
It is known that more than half of smokers get sick and die prematurely, today are 6 million people per year worldwide who lose their lives for the snuff. Premature deaths caused by the tobacco industry, which admitted selling a highly cancerígeno- product focus their advertising campaigns to attract children and adolescents need to renew their population because of “clients”. For that, associated advertising their products with fun, excitement, sex, power, among other values. Thus, campaigns spread in all mass media, and film was no exception
There is scientific studies showing that the industry began to promote cigarettes in movies since 1927. He paid actors and producers to include scenes of people smoking in order to get more consumers. They paid $ 3.3 million to Hollywood stars such as Ronald Reagan or Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca actor, advertising for their services annually. The campaigns followed, they are amoldaron each time, and got their impact. “Studies in England, Mexico, United States and Germany prove that the more scenes with snuff see the guys in the movies, more smoke,” he told Clarin Raul Mejia, a physician and researcher at CEDES. “It is also shown that the scenes with cigarettes affect teenagers more about direct advertising of snuff,” he added.
Mejia and other researchers analyzed the film production from 2004 to 2009 in 9 countries, and in all cases found that over 50% of the films showed snuff. It was identified that in Argentina, 89% of locally produced films contain scenes with snuff. Among those who are qualified to young audiences, 9 out of 10 show characters who smoke or are in contact with snuff products. Among the analyzed films of Argentina were the average longer included snuff scenes with 210 seconds on average per film. Instead, the country with less time was Italy with 57 seconds.
In our country, since 2011 governed the national law restricting the marketing of snuff. “The standard does not mention the movies, and that is used by the tobacco to further promote their products in movies industry,” said Mejia. “An update of the law is needed to include the film and that the recommendations of WHO report are adopted.” That report recommended that films with scenes of snuff are classified only for adults; a certification is given to recognize producers who do not receive anything of value in exchange for using or displaying snuff products; it ends with the exhibition of brands; and that the inclusion of strong ads against snuff before movies that contain images of cigarettes in movies, television and the Internet is required. In addition, the WHO report recommends that the productions that promote the consumption of snuff should not receive public subsidies.
“The new WHO recommendations to reduce snuff in films are an important step forward for the world,” said Veronica Schoj, executive director of the Inter-American Heart Foundation. “At the same time, it is essential that in Argentina all forms of advertising and product display snuff ban in the stands, because it is also one of the main incentives for kids to start smoking.” w
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