Special Report: Kids and smoking

And now a new study suggests smoking is something kids may learn to do by watching movies...

"They learn from the television shows, they learn from the video games they play. So this doesn't surprised me at all."

Researchers asked more than 6,500 us adolescents ages 10 to 14 what movies they had seen. Of the more than 500 films they watched, 74 percent contained smoking scenes. 21-other factors that could influence a child to smoke were also looked at...like whether parents smoked, and parental supervision.

"Movie exposure stood independently as a primary risk factor for smoking."

Dr. Michael rich from Children's Hospital Boston says kids often want to act like the celebrities they see.

"So when Julia Roberts lights up a cigarette they are going to be more inclined to light up a cigarette if they want to be more like Julia Roberts."

Teens with the highest exposure to tobacco use in movies were two and half times more likely to take up smoking compared to those with the lowest exposure. It's something experts say parents need to be aware of…

"When their kids are learning from a variety of sources including the movies, parents need to help filter and focus that information in ways which are healthy for them."

Researchers hope the film industry will help make parents more aware by adding a smoking content warning to the movie rating system. In the newsroom, Francis Rivera, 7news.

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