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London (pte020/19.05.2005/11:11) - Despite an agreement made in 1998 by major tobacco companies to halt the advertising of brand names in children's films in the US, tobacco advertising has only dropped by three per cent.
The study, carried out by Hanover's Dartmouth Medical School, appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association http://jama.ama-assn.org and compares tobacco advertising in children's and adult films - which fell from 30 per cent to 13 per cent since the agreement was made.
Eight-hundred box-office films were surveyed: 400 made before 1998 and 400 made thereafter. Overall, there tobacco-related advertising fell from 21 per cent to 11 per cent.
Author of the study, Dr. Anna Adachi-Mejia commented on the high percentage of advertising in kids' films: "It's worrisome because part of the intent of the agreement was to reduce tobacco advertising directed towards youth, and our study demonstrates that tobacco brands are still appearing in films rated for adolescents." Films such as Men in Black II, What Women Want and Mona Lisa Smile- all rated PG-13 in the US - had tobacco brand appearances, Adachi-Mejia said.
"Companies, and not just the tobacco industry, like to use films to promote their products," said John Beyer, director of campaign group Mediawatch UK. "It is a way of reaching their audience almost subliminally. It's particularly concerning when it's targeted at children and also when it involves a product such as cigarettes."
A spokesman from a trade body for tobacco companies, the Tobacco Merchant Association, was surprised to hear that tobacco brands still appeared in films. "The agreement was strongly supported by the industry. If they are found to be in breach of it they can be fined," he said.
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