Editorial: Tobacco Companies Strike Through Movies! by Patrick

As a teenager, you are exposed to many movies which have smoking scenes. How does this affect you? Imagine yourself as a parent, you go with your child to watch a movie , and their favorite movie star takes a big puff of Marlboro-brand cigarettes. When the movie is done and you’re walking out, your child says, ”Wow, Brad Pitt is smoking? He’s cool! Mom, Dad, can I smoke too?” It’s statistically proven that children who watch movies, with their favorite movie stars smoking, are more likely to start smoking at a young age.

Having people in movies smoke makes children believe that smoking is normal and acceptable. The number of deaths due to lung cancer has increased approximately 3.5 percent between 1999 and 2012 from 152,156 to 157,499. The number of deaths among men has reached a plateau but the number is still rising among women. In 2012, there were 86,740 deaths due to lung cancer in men and 70,759 in women. Making children believe that smoking is okay, should not be acceptable. Smoking causes many health problems, One of the most common health issues caused by smoking is lung cancer. Lung cancer is the main cancer that is responsible for killing most men and women. Scientists claim the average smoker will lose 14 years of their life due to smoking. This, however, does not necessarily mean that a smoker will die young – and they may still live out a ‘normal’ lifespan.

To avoid children from believing that smoking is okay, movies should require anti-smoking ads before any movie with tobacco use. By doing this, children will know that smoking should not be accepted in society. Posting these anti-smoking ads will also show children the consequences of smoking. Children who watch movies with anti-smoking ads will second think smoking.