[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16291]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SMOKING IN THE MOVIES

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, at a time when policy makers are doing 
everything they can to reduce smoking in our society, one area of 
smoking prevention remains unchallenged: Smoking in the movies.
  Studies have shown that viewing smoking in the movies normalizes 
smoking among youth. It glamorizes smoking through the attractiveness 
of the actors and characters who smoke. These attitude changes lead to 
smoking experimentation, which in turn leads to harmful and addictive 
habits.
  Tobacco is still depicted in three-quarters of youth-rated movies and 
90 percent of R-rated movies. Movies targeting impressionable youth 
should be the last place for gratuitous smoking images.
  Dartmouth Medical School found that up to one-half of the youth 
smoking initiation is explained by exposure to smoking in the movies in 
their studies.
  Parents should know they are exposing their kids to glamorized 
depictions of smoking when they allow them to see youth-related movies 
by the rating system.

                          ____________________