Anti-Smoking Ads Featuring Celebrities Smoking Try to Get Kids to Rebel, but It Could Backfire

Medical Daily - A recent study conducted by researchers from Geisel found that movie characters that smoke, both "good guys" and "bad guys," influence teen smoking. The article quotes Susanne Tanski, lead author and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics: "It’s true that ‘bad guys’ are more often smokers in the movies, but there really are not that many 'bad guys' compared to 'good guys.' Episode for episode, youth who saw negative characters smoking were more likely to start smoking, but since overall there is so much more exposure to ‘good guy’ smoking, the net effect is similar." Read more...