That parental advice comes in a study in the July issue of the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine.

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Access to movies should be monitored
Dartmouth College researchers say they've found a link between adolescent smoking and movies, and they advise paediatricians to urge parents to monitor their teen's access to movies. The researchers also say parents should pay attention to movie ratings.

"We want paediatricians to talk with parents of adolescents about how movies can influence their young teenagers," James Sargent, an associate professor at the Dartmouth Medical School, says in a news release.

"Parents need to know that if they can reduce their child's exposure to smoking in movies, it may have a profound impact on reducing their chances of starting to smoke and drink," Sargent says.

Images influence teen behaviour
He and his fellow researchers have published a number of papers and articles, which are cited in this new study. The Dartmouth researchers have concluded that teens see thousands of depictions of smoking by movie stars and these images influence teens' behaviour and attitudes.

In this new study, the researchers offer advice to parents on how to limit their teens' access to movies. That includes reducing subscriptions to movie channels on cable TV, limiting movie video or DVDs to one per week, and restricting access to R-rated movies.

"Such parenting measures could reduce rates of adolescent smoking without directly addressing the behaviour," the researchers conclude. – (HealthDayNews)

Read more:
Smoke on screen spurs teens
Easy access boosts smoking

 

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