When are smoke-free movies going to be the norm? Everyone knows smoking is not healthy. It is a horrible way to spend the precious minutes of life. According to the CDC, not only is smoking harmful, but it is the cause of one in five deaths in the United States. Sadly, the death toll does not stop there. Smoking in movies kills and kills innocent kids of all ages who are in just for the entertainment. Fortunately, there is a way to fix this horrible problem. Smoking should be prohibited in movies to save the lives of children across the world.
According to OxyGen.org, the youth are three times more likely to go to the movies than adults. When compared to other age groups, the youth hit the number one stop for exposure to tobacco. A research study by California teenagers concluded that out of 150 movies, 26 percent had anti tobacco messages; but 55 percent had pro tobacco messages. The group collected their data by counting the number of “incidents”, which is defined as a scene that portrays smoking. The 134 top-grossing films of 2011 had over 1,900 tobacco incidents. The amount of exposure is mind-blowing! As a result, 52% of teenagers start smoking after watching these scenes. Our kids are the future of America and should not be faced with these negative influences. Believe it or not, but tobacco companies market their commercials ...secretly. Viewers have no idea about the multi-million dollar contracts made behind the scenes to advertise tobacco. Tobacco companies are just heartless and have no respect for the human body. In the end, a significant number of teens suffer from the decisions made by tobacco companies and pick up this unhealthy habit.
The sad part of this marketing strategy is tobacco companies are ruining the lives of our youth. They allow coronary artery disease, prostate cancer, bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, and a endless amount of other diseases to ease into the immune system of healthy children. Based on the research done by the U.S Surgeon General, removing these “secret commercials” from rated R movies can save over one thousand lives every year. One thousand lives is a lot! Imagine the different kinds of diseases that will be eliminated and the amount of medical expenses that will be saved. Are we going to wait or take a stand to end this dilemma?
The other side of this is parents are responsible for teaching their kids about the effects of smoking. It is the job of parents to ensure that their kids lead a happy and safe life. Seeing a few smoking scenes will not influence a child’s decision to take on smoking. Parents are much more influential than a movie screen.
All in all, smoking in movies is hazardous for your health and we should stop these tobacco companies right now. One resolution would be to require movie theaters to show strong anti-tobacco advertisements before the start of the movie. This will inform the audience of the dangers of smoking and its sneaky advertisements and will set a tone for those who believe in a healthy lifestyle. Why should we wait for more lives to be killed day after day? Lets enjoy the entertainment, have fun, and make tobacco one less thing to worry about.
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