Certainly there are many different factors that could potentially play a role in hooking someone on the habit of smoking. But for the purposes of this Sound Off, we’re going to focus on one of these potential factors: the media.

In a recent issue of the British medical journal, The Lancet, doctors at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire reported an “association between on-screen smoking in an adolescent’s favorite movie actor and his or her own smoking behavior.”

In your opinion, do you think adolescents – or adults, for that matter – are more likely to smoke if they see their favorite actor/actress puffing up in a film? How much of an influence, if any, do you think these depictions can have on a person’s decision to smoke or not smoke?

Do other segments of the media help perpetuate the smoking habit among American citizens?

Here’s some additional information to consider while formulating your opinion:

• In the same study by the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, doctors reviewed the 25 top U.S. box office releases for the years 1988-1997 to find that tobacco use was featured in 85% of the films studied. Does this statistic surprise you?



• Tobacco companies have been banned from paying filmmakers to display their products in movies since 1989. Do you think this ban should continue?



• Defenders of the movie industry argue that, in order for movies to portray real-life situations, certain characters must smoke because people smoke in real life. Do you think this is a fair justification?



• In your opinion, is the cigarette use portrayed in the movies and media consistent with the amount of cigarette use in real life?



• Cigarette advertisements are currently banned from radio and television. Do you think this ban should continue?



• Finally, whom do you think should be held responsible for smoking-related illnesses or deaths – the cigarette companies or the smokers themselves? Should the responsibility be shared? How much responsibility, if any, should the media bear?