Dear Editor,
Reality Check is joining youth around the world calling on Hollywood to get tobacco OUT of youth rated movies. We are a statewide teen-led movement working to prevent tobacco use. We call on organizations to do their part too.
According to the Surgeon General, tobacco use in kids’ movies causes youth to smoke. In 2014, smoking scenes were included in 43 percent of PG-13 movies. So basically, if your child watched 100 different movies, they’d be seeing at least 43 of their favorite celebrities smoking a cigarette.
Non-smoking teens whose favorite actors frequently smoke on screen are 16 times more likely to have positive attitudes about smoking in the future. Unfortunately, tobacco use in movies is becoming more popular.
The average number of tobacco incidents in PG-13 rated films has doubled since 2008. Research shows that eliminating smoking from PG-13 movies would save a million kids in the U.S. from an early death caused by tobacco. That’s worth doing something about. The next time you pull out your phone and take a selfie, hashtag it #RateSmokingR, and tag @MPAA. Or write to the MPAA at contactUS@MPAA.org to ask them give tobacco an R-Rating. Be a part of saving millions of lives!
Sincerely,
Anna Evanek
Tioga Center, N.Y.
