Female youths' perceptions of smoking in popular films

In this study, the authors used focus group interviews to explore how female adolescents in a Canadian high school interpreted and used tobacco imagery in films in their daily lives. Findings from interviews with 20 smokers led them to argue that smoking scenes in films might stimulate youth smoking and that cigarettes are an important symbol in youth peer groups with explicit social meanings and functions. Their analysis of interviews with 17 nonsmokers revealed that although the majority noticed smoking in movies, it did not detract from their viewing experience. Although both smokers and nonsmokers were aware that tobacco placements in films served as a form of product promotion, they typically focused on smoking's function as a dramatic device for character development rather than its promotional value. Overall, both groups appeared capable of critical readings of smoking in films but tended not to use these capabilities when viewing movies.