Anti-smoking cinema advertising campaign aimed at young people launched in South Australia

An anti-smoking cinema advertising campaign aimed at young people was launched in South Australia yesterday as part of National Youth Tobacco Free Day.

Health Minister Lea Stevens says the 30-second ad, in the style of a movie ‘trailer’, is an attempt to fight back against images in movies that portray smoking as glamorous and desirable.

“As tobacco advertising has become restricted around the world, there has been a significant increase in more subtle forms of tobacco marketing, like product placement in films,” says Ms Stevens. “We believe this is a deliberate tactic to target young people in particular.

“Adolescents are three times more likely to go to the movies than adults - on average, 14 to 24 year olds visit the cinema 10 times a year.

“Combine this with the fact that eight out of 10 new smokers are children or adolescents, and you can see that movies are a potent way for tobacco companies to try and increase their business.

“In the 13 top grossing popular Australian teen films of 1999-2000, 62% had a least one tobacco scene, with an average of four scenes per film.

“And a recent Australian study found that tobacco use was portrayed as socially acceptable in 95% of all smoking scenes in movies.

“The campaign being launched today challenges the glamorous images in movies.”

Ms Stevens says research shows most people start smoking in their teens, and if you haven’t started smoking by the time you’re 18 you’re unlikely to take up the habit.

“If we are to make a real difference to smoking rates, and to the death and disease caused by tobacco, it is crucial to prevent young people from becoming smokers,” she says. “That’s what this campaign is all about.”

The movie ad, which will begin in cinemas from next week, urges people not to be “sucked in” by any smoking-in-movies they are about to see. The ad was originally produced for the Cancer Council of NSW, and is directed by award winning young filmmaker Kriv Stenders.

The ‘Smoking in the Movies’ Campaign and advertisement will be launched at 9.45am this morning, at the Palace Nova Cinema, 251 Rundle Street Adelaide. Mr Stenders will be at the launch.

National Youth Tobacco Free Day is an initiative of the Australian Network on Young People and Tobacco, represented in South Australia by Quit SA.