Volume 9 — September 27, 2012
BRIEF
Smoking in Top-Grossing US Movies, 2011
| Year | Movie Rating | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G or PG | PG-13 | R | ||
| 1991 | 140 | 686 | 2,357 | 3,183 |
| 1992 | 375 | 518 | 1,212 | 2,105 |
| 1993 | 518 | 1,004 | 1,709 | 3,231 |
| 1994 | 157 | 1,245 | 1,717 | 3,119 |
| 1995 | 200 | 697 | 1,561 | 2,458 |
| 1996 | 740 | 662 | 1,372 | 2,774 |
| 1997 | 246 | 802 | 2,338 | 3,386 |
| 1998 | 41 | 505 | 1,067 | 1,613 |
| 1999 | 32 | 527 | 1,766 | 2,325 |
| 2000 | 108 | 980 | 705 | 1,793 |
| 2001 | 95 | 759 | 1,712 | 2,566 |
| 2002 | 50 | 995 | 1,579 | 2,624 |
| 2003 | 85 | 1,395 | 1,237 | 2,717 |
| 2004 | 147 | 1,593 | 1,480 | 3,220 |
| 2005 | 472 | 1,513 | 1,977 | 3,962 |
| 2006 | 146 | 1,041 | 2,362 | 3,549 |
| 2007 | 173 | 918 | 2,038 | 3,129 |
| 2008 | 53 | 1,066 | 1,263 | 2,382 |
| 2009 | 107 | 749 | 1,083 | 1,939 |
| 2010 | 30 | 565 | 1,224 | 1,819 |
| 2011 | 107 | 745 | 1,029 | 1,881 |
Figure 1. Tobacco incidents in top-grossing US movies by year and movie rating, 1991–2011. Top-grossing movies were those that were among the 10 top-grossing movies in any calendar week of the year. An incident of tobacco use is 1 use or implied use of a tobacco product (almost exclusively smoking) by an actor. Historical data are from our earlier report (3).
| Company | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comcast (Universal) | 10.0 | 12.1 | 34.8 | 26.2 | 25.8 | 4.8 | 25.0 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 6.5 |
| Disney | 14.4 | 5.1 | 10.3 | 9.8 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 11.4 |
| Time Warner | 14.4 | 16.2 | 18.8 | 25.7 | 12.4 | 7.1 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 0.3 | 7.6 |
Figure 2. Tobacco incidents per youth-rated top-grossing US movie among companies with published policies related to tobacco in youth-rated movies, 2002–2011. Time Warner adopted its policy in 2005, Comcast in 2007, and Disney in 2004. Youth-rated movies are those rated G, PG, or PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America. Top-grossing movies were those that were among the 10 top-grossing movies in any calendar week of the year. An incident is 1 use or implied use of a tobacco product (almost exclusively smoking) by an actor. Historical data are from our earlier report (3).
| Company | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| News Corp. | 10.4 | 17.8 | 3.8 | 11.5 | 5.4 | 8.6 | 3.6 | 8.4 | 5.6 | 13.7 |
| Sony | 14.8 | 21.5 | 19.1 | 19.5 | 14.1 | 26.8 | 5.3 | 8.5 | 14.2 | 9.7 |
| Viacom | 7.1 | 19.2 | 13.9 | 38.5 | 14.7 | 4.6 | 15.3 | 7.8 | 14.4 | 13.2 |
| Independent | 17.2 | 18.8 | 17.0 | 13.5 | 6.5 | 25.5 | 17.1 | 28.3 | 8.9 | 1.4 |
Figure 3. Tobacco incidents per youth-rated top-grossing US movie among companies without published policies related to tobacco in youth-rated movies, 2002–2011. Youth-rated movies are those rated G, PG, or PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Top-grossing movies were those that were among the 10 top-grossing movies in any calendar week of the year. An incident is 1 use or implied use of a tobacco product (almost exclusively smoking) by an actor. Independent companies are those that are not members of the MPAA. Historical data are from our earlier report (3).
The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions.
