Influence of movies, television, and newspapers on tobacco use among men and women in India
Indian
women and men who see movies in a cinema once a month are more likely
to smoke or chew tobacco, and men who watch television are more likely
to smoke, according to a cross-sectional survey of national data.
Reading newspapers was associated with decreased likelihood of smoking
among women.
The
research, “Movies and TV Influence Tobacco Use in India: Findings from a
National Survey,” was conducted by K. Viswanath, PhD, and colleagues
Leland K. Ackerson, Glorian Sorensen, and Prakash C. Gupta. Their work
was supported by the Tobacco Research Network on Disparities (TReND),
which is funded by the American Legacy Foundation and the National
Cancer Institute. Support was also provided by the Dana-Farber/Harvard
Cancer Center.
The article was published on June 29, 2010 by PLOS One and can be freely read and downloaded at:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0011365
The
study offers a promising model for other researchers to investigate the
influence of media on tobacco use in developing countries. Mass media
has the power to either encourage or discourage tobacco use. The authors
sought to understand how visual, audio, and print media influence men
and women in India. They speculated that “…different media genres are
more likely to be receptive to pro-tobacco content given the heavy
promotion of tobacco use in advertising and incidence of smoking in
movies….Newspapers on the other hand do carry tobacco advertising but
are also likely to carry stories on harmful effects of smoking.”
India
is the second largest tobacco consumer in the world. Tobacco is smoked
in bidis, which are thin, hand-rolled cigarettes; in cigars; and in
pipes. Tradition commonly forbids women from smoking, but chewing
tobacco is an acceptable, inexpensive and convenient alternative among
both women and men, often in response to India’s national smoking bans.
Tobacco is often chewed in paan masala and ghutka, which are mixtures of
chewing tobacco, areca nut, slaked lime, and other flavorings, and
chewing tobacco is being aggressively marketed by the tobacco industry.
The
study analyzed data from the National Family Health Survey, a
nationally representative sample of nearly 125,000 women and 75,000 men.
Participants were asked about tobacco use and frequency of exposure to
newspapers, radio, television, and movies in cinemas. Among women, 1.5%
smoked and 8.4% chewed tobacco; 33.6% of men smoked and 36.4% of men
chewed. Smoking was more common among women who attended the cinema
monthly, and occasional newspaper reading was associated with lower
smoking prevalence among women. Smoking was more common among men who
watched television daily and who attend the cinema monthly.
The
authors conclude that “exposure to pro-tobacco content in television
and cinema may promote tobacco use among men and women in India. This
suggests clear directions for actions to curb pro-tobacco messages in
these media could serve to reduce the use of tobacco and subsequent
tobacco-related illnesses in India.”
Read the original article online:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0011365
