Alcohol in the movies
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
A study indicates movies rated for teen audiences are showing more alcohol. Elaina Bergamini of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire looked at data on hit movies from 1996 through 2009. She says appearances of branded alcohol in movies rated G, PG- and PG-13 rose from 80 to 145 a year.
Bergamini says there are controls on tobacco appearances, and they were not rising, but alcohol lacks similar controls.
She says parents should talk with their kids:
“Talk about drinking. Talk about binge drinking. And talk about the consequences of drinking – especially in light of the fact that those consequences are not sufficiently represented in the movies.”
The study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
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HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.