Study Links On-Screen Smoking and Actual Smoking in Young Adults

Results of a study made public Tuesday may provide some statistical legitimacy to the phrase, "monkey see, monkey do." Researchers from the University of California at San Francisco found a strong correlation between exposure to on-screen smoking and the development of smoking in young adults.

While earlier studies have linked seeing smoking in movies and emulating the behavior among teenagers, the UCSF study was unique in that it focused on the 18-25 age group. This is significant because it is during these years that smoking develops into a lifelong behavior. In other words, it is the time when smoking proves itself to be either a passing teenage phase or a lifelong addiction.

"Ages 18 to 25 are critical years, when one-third of smokers start and others who began smoking as adolescents either stop smoking or become regular smokers," said Stanton Glantz, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Tobacco Research and Education at UCSF.

The study, of which Glantz is the senior author, will be published in the November edition of the "American Journal of Preventative Medicine." The results indicated a "dose-response relationship" between the exposure to smoking in movies and the likelihood of having smoked in the past 30 days. Of the participants, those who saw the most on screen smoking had a 77 percent greater chance of having smoked at least once in the last 30 days. In addition, this group had an 86 percent increased chance of being regular, established smokers as compared to those who were exposed to little on-screen smoking.

"The main effect is to recruit new smokers from among young adults," said Glantz. In addition to recruiting new smokers, the study also showed a direct effect between exposure and current smoking habits. Two mediating factors were cited in this relationship: exposure to friends and relatives who smoke and positive expectations about smoking.