On April 15, 2018, public health experts in the UK sent the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology a strong reminder that the biggest media risk to kids is tobacco imagery that recruits and addicts millions of new, young smokers.
Along with the latest research evidence of tobacco's persistent harm to the nation's young people, Action for Smoking and Health (ASH UK) and the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol also exposed appearances of Lucky Strikes on Love Island, a popular the popular UK reality show, and described how tobacco imagery was packed into a 2017 Winston Churchill bio-movie using nameless extras.
George Butterworth, senior policy manager at Cancer Research UK, observed:
"New figures published by Cancer Research UK show that 127,000 children start smoking each year in the UK. The introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco products, backed up the complete ban on advertising, leaves smoking in the entertainment media as the main way smoking is promoted to children. Yet parents seem unaware of the risks."
The experts' submission to the Committee, drafted by ASH UK chief Deborah Arnott, Professor John Britton and others, asked it to recommend that two UK regulators —Ofcom (covering TV and video on demand) and the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) — take two steps to protect young viewers:
• Ofcom and the BBFC should monitor youth exposure to depictions of tobacco use on screen in the channels they regulate and publish these data in their annual reviews;
• Ofcom and the BBFC should revise their guidelines with respect to smoking on screen in entertainment media viewed by under-18s to discourage any depictions of tobacco use; and require action to mitigate any remaining exposure.
The submission reported new survey results showing that 81% of UK 11-15 year olds and 88% of 16-18 year olds say they see smoking in films. Meantime, more than two-thirds of 11-15 year olds and three-quarters of 16-18 year olds recall seeing smoking on TV.
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• Download the report to the select committee
• Read the health experts' media advisory