The caption, Smoking is injurious to health, finds a place in every cigarette pack. Yet, does it discourage smoking? Similarly, anti-smoking ads on TV or in movies are of little help.
A new research reveals that anti-smoking advertisements before movies diminish the appeal of smoking only for young non-smokers. But, offer nothing to regular or chain smokers.
The study was conducted on 3,000 moviegoers between ages 12 and 24 years over three weeks. Researchers found 18% of them persisted with smoking even after having watched the ads in the movie that strongly urged non-smoking.
In the second and third weeks of the study, moviegoers were shown an ad cautioning them not to be sucked in by the approaching portrayal of smoking in the movie. Again, the ad impacted the non-smokers. The number that felt smoking in the movie was not OK rose from 43.8% to 47.8%, but all being non-smokers.
When the researchers contacted smokers who did see the ad, 38.6 percent of them said they were likely to continue smoking, forcing the authors to declare that the ad appeared to reinforce the smoking behavior of the smokers.
The researchers caution that movie stars who smoke on screen being rebellious, attractive and successful in life are usually liked by their fans, and their act of smoking enthuses a feeling in few of their fans to take to smoking. The case is very clearly stated by the study as it reports that 98 % of the moviegoers recalled characters smoking in the movie, whereas 51.7% recalled seeing the anti-smoking ad.
As smoking on screen in films has increased, more restrictions on tobacco advertising have come into effect, reinforcing smokers’ intentions to smoke. The smoking industry has seen a surge in the number of its consumers. With ill effects of smoking making headlines day by day in the form of severe diseases, the number of smokers is also increasing. This clearly states that smoking is there to stay as long as man himself is not cautious of his health and of others.
Via: Ivanhoe