Public health round-up

Films with smoking scenes should be rated to prevent children and adolescents from seeing these scenes and starting to smoke cigarettes, according to a new WHO report, Smoke-free movies: from evidence to action. The report calls on governments to require health warnings to be shown before films containing smoking scenes, to ban the display of tobacco brands in films and to require film-makers to certify that they have not received payments to depict tobacco use. Citing growing evidence linking exposure to on-screen smoking with youth smoking initiation, the report argues that these measures can protect children from being introduced to tobacco products and subsequent tobacco-related addiction, illness and death. Since 2005, countries that are parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control have been required to adopt tobacco control measures, including a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. As a result, traditional outlets for tobacco advertising, such as magazines and television, are no longer available. However, the frequency of images showing smoking or other tobacco use in films has increased in many countries, the report notes. “With ever tighter restrictions on tobacco advertising, film remains one of the last channels exposing millions of adolescents to smoking imagery without restrictions,” said Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director of the Department of Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases at WHO headquarters. “Smoking in films can be a strong form of promotion for tobacco products,” Bettcher said. “The 180 Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) are obliged by international law to ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.” http://www.who.int/tobacco/publii cations/marketing/smoke-free-moviesthird-edition