Welcome to the Smoke Screeners Program! Designed to be used in a classroom or youth group setting, this program invites youth to become critical movie and TV viewers. By drawing attention to how smoking is normalized (made to look acceptable) or glamorized (made to look cool) in many films and on television, Smoke Screeners will increase student awareness of tobacco use in popular entertainment. Very simply, the Smoke Screeners message for young people is "View and think!" Youth are exposed to an extraordinary array of messages via many forms of media: music videos, computer games, TV shows, the Internet, and movies. Some of the most harmful and pervasive messages portrayed by the entertainment industry include the images of smoking as cool, acceptable, and commonplace. Movies in particular show smoking and other tobacco use in ways that appeal to youth, but often don't show the deadly health consequences. When movies normalize or glamorize tobacco use, they create a "smoke screen" between viewers and the truth. The Smoke Screeners program encourages young people to see through the smoke on the movie screen - to become Smoke Screeners.

A Focus on Smoking in the Movies Recent data is bringing the problem into clear focus. Despite the fact that fewer adults in the United States are smoking in real life, there has been a significant increase of smoking in movies over the last several years. Since young people are frequent moviegoers, they are consequently being exposed to unrealistic smoking scenarios on a regular basis. A recent American Lung Association study reviewed the top 50 box office movies of each year from 1991 through 1998. The youth-led study found that although smoking had decreased somewhat in the mid-1990's, it has steadily risen since then. For 1997/98, 88% of the movies reviewed contained tobacco use, and in 74% of them, it was the lead actors who were smoking. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, 89% of the top 200 movie rentals from 1996 and 1997 contained tobacco use. Tobacco was used in 79% of G or PG movies, 82% of PG-13 movies, and 92% of R-rated movies - with negative consequences rarely portrayed. Smoking in the movies has an influence globally, as American movies are watched virtually everywhere in the world. When an actor lights up, that image reaches impressionable young people in Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, and beyond.

The Best Chaperone at the Movies: Media Literacy Neither parents nor educators have the resources or time to effectively filter or manage the daily barrage of media messages that young people are exposed to. That's why we must help youth become media literate. Then, young people - on their own - learn to distinguish between fact and fiction, reality and illusion. Students begin to question sources of information and look for missing facts. To learn more about media literacy in other mediums of entertainment, we recommend the activity guide "MediaSharp" available on CDC's Web site at www.cdc.gov/tobacco or by calling 1(800) CDC-1311. Smoke Screeners Objectives: Cutting Through the Smoke Screen Heighten young people's awareness about tobacco in movies and on TV. Help young people consider how the entertainment industry normalizes and glamorizes tobacco use. Reduce the impact that widespread images of smoking have on young people's attitudes and behavior.

Smoke Screeners Target Audience: Eleven to Fourteen Year-Olds Smoke Screeners is designed for students in middle and early high school. Youth in this age group love to experiment. When young people begin experimenting with tobacco, they are vulnerable to addiction before they get the facts. And, once they make the decision to use tobacco, the habit can last a lifetime. We also know that young people are big video watchers and moviegoers. In fact, a recent study from the Motion Picture Association of America showed that 48% of youth ages 12-17 say they go to a movie at least once a month, compared with just 26% of people over age 17. And because movie stars are often role models for young people, actors' use of tobacco can affect how youth feel about smoking.

To order Smoke Screeners, please call 1-800-CDC-1311.