According to the PAHO statistics, some 1 million people in the Americas die each year because of tobacco. At the same time, scientific research in the U.S. indicates that nonsmoking teens whose favorite stars smoke frequently on screen are 16 times more likely to develop positive attitudes towards smoking, and teens who are exposed the most to smoking in movies are three times more likely than other teens to try smoking.

In the 1998 settlement reached between the tobacco companies and 46 states in the U.S., as well as in a 1990 tobacco industry voluntary code, tobacco companies promised to stop paying for tobacco use and brand images on screen. Yet, according to a study by the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, smoking and tobacco brand imagery in the most popular youth-oriented movies increased by 50 percent following the settlement. University of California research shows that smoking in movies is now more prevalent than in the 1960s, when the incidence of real-life smoking was much higher. The current smoking rates among the protagonists of films are 300 percent greater than in real life, according to the University of California.

Dr. Mirta Roses, PAHO director, said movies portray an unrealistic level and picture of smoking. "In the movies the beautiful and rich smoke. In real life the poor and disadvantaged smoke. In the movies, people are rarely seen dying from smoking. In real life, half of all smokers die from a smoking-related disease."

She added: "Those at the age most vulnerable to start smoking, children and adolescents, are also at the age to be enamored by movie stars and fashion models. And young people model smoking behavior."

PAHO is calling on the movie industry to take up four concrete actions to ensure that movies do not promote smoking:

Certify No Pay-Offs
The producers should post a certificate in the credits at the end of the movie declaring that no one received anything of value, such as cash money, free cigarettes or other gifts, free publicity, interest-free loans, in exchange for using or displaying tobacco.

Require Strong Anti-Smoking Ads
Studios and theaters should require strong anti-smoking ads, not those produced by tobacco companies, to run before any film showing tobacco, regardless of the movie rating. These ads have been shown to help "inoculate" youth against tobacco use.

Stop Identifying Tobacco Brands
There should be no tobacco brand identification or the presence of tobacco brand imagery, such as billboards, in the background of any movie scene.

Rate New Smoking Movies "R"
Any film that shows or implies tobacco should be rated "R." The only exceptions should be when the presentation of tobacco clearly and unambiguously reflects the dangers and consequences of tobacco use or is necessary to represent smoking of a real historical figure.

Tobacco use rates vary in the America Region, with the highest usage in the Southern Cone countries, in particular in Argentina and Chile, where about 45 percent of the men and 35 percent of the women smoke. The lowest figures are reported in the Caribbean, especially Dominica, Guyana, and Jamaica, where the prevalence of consumption is of less than 17 percent. World No Tobacco Day this year focuses on adolescents, the most vulnerable group. Some 70 percent of smokers in the Americas started before age 18.

In 1989, the World Health Assembly designated to 31 May as World No Tobacco Day to encourage smokers to quit and to increase public knowledge of the impact tobacco has on health. Since then, the day has focused on topics such as workplaces free of tobacco, the media and tobacco, and sports without tobacco. This day is marked throughout the world with campaigns, messages, and events.

PAHO was established officially in 1902 and is the world's oldest ongoing public health agency. It works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. PAHO serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization.