A study by the National Institute of Public Health reported that the images of tobacco in films will contribute to the premature deaths of 450,000 teenagers in Mexico in the coming years.
The Interamerican Heart Foundation – Mexico said in a press release that almost three million teenagers between 13 and 15 years old have tried smoking, when presenting result on their “Snuff, cinema and youth” study.
According to the document, a million of these teenagers are active smokers, which will result in 450,000 premature deaths. While observing scenes containing tobacco in films is one of the most important factors that drive young people to that addiction.
The study analyzed scenes containing tobacco in 885 films – 92 national, which were the highest grossing movies in Mexico between 2004 and 2012.
The researchers concluded that exposure to tobacco in the screen has a cumulative effect, and found that 47 percent of foreign films shown in Mexico during that period showed images or cigarette smoking. In the case of Mexican films, the percentage increased to 80 percent. The mean time to tobacco appearance on screen was 150 seconds per movie with a classification suitable for teenagers.
Erick Antonio Ochoa, Tobacco Control Director at from the Interamerican Heart Foundation – Mexico, warned that consuming tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the country, as it triggers several diseases that have caused 66,000 deaths.
Through: Notimex
