SceneSmoking.org - Celebrity Quotes

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Here is a sample corrective letter to a studio. Just highlight & copy the text below. Then paste it into your word processor or an email program - click here for Adobe Acrobat version.

Date

Insert Studio Name
Address
City, State Zip

Dear (Insert Studio Chair Name),

I am writing to urge (insert studio name) to support voluntary actions dedicated to reducing tobacco use in movies. There is no question that smoking in movies is a major influence on children's smoking behavior.

Smoking in movies is a serious and growing worldwide problem:

Of the top-ten movies reviewed weekly from June 1, 2003 to May 31, 2004 by the American Lung Association, 53% were rated PG-13 and 37% were rated R. 84% of the R rated movies contained tobacco, and 77% of the PG-13 movies, films that are targeted directly at young people, contained tobacco.

Scientific studies have found that 52 percent of smoking initiation among adolescents can be attributed to smoking in movies, which suggests that reducing adolescent exposure to smoking in the movies could significantly reduce the number of youth who initiate smoking. (http://www.dartmouth.edu/dms/news/2003_h1/10jun2003_smoking.shtml)

(Insert studio name) was involved in the production of (insert movie name). Trained movie reviewers found that this movie showed numerous tobacco related depictions, earning it a (insert "Lung Award" here)*. My friends and family have always enjoyed your films but will only continue to do so as long as we know you are willing to take steps in reducing the glamorization of tobacco in movies.

Here's what I ask of you - stop showing tobacco in movies rated G, PG and PG-13. Both the American Medical Association and the World Health Organization now urge this action. Use anti-smoking ads. Anti-smoking ads aired before a film - both in the theater and on video - can neutralize the pro-tobacco influence of smoking in a movie without influencing how favorably the audience views the movie.

I think these are serious and thoughtful recommendations and look forward to your response to these ideas. The time has come for Hollywood to move past the rhetoric and acknowledge its role in shaping youth behavior. You have the power to reduce the marketing of tobacco to children worldwide. Please, take action.

Sincerely,

(Insert your name here)

* Based on movie reviews conducted by Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down!, a project of the Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails. Movies are reviewed by youth reviewers and staff and are awarded "Lungs" based on the amount of tobacco depicted, who is using tobacco, where tobacco is used and the messages delivered. For more information and weekly ratings of the top ten grossing movies, go to http://www.scenesmoking.org/