SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 17 (UPI) _ California state lawmakers will investigate the expanding role of smoking in movies, typically used as a prop for lead characters who may be imitated by children.
Sen. John Burton, a former three-packs-a-day smoker, told reporters today that his Judiciary Committee will hold a Los Angeles hearing on the issue Nov. 5.
Burton says it's a way of putting pressure on industry leaders who appear to be unaware of the impact that smoking in movies and television scenes has on children.
He cited new research by the University of California, San Francisco, that found half of the top-grossing films between 1990 and 1995 portrayed a lead character smoking a cigarette. That compares with 29 percent in the 1970s.
Another report by the American Lung Association and others found that 77 percent of the movies released in 1996 featured scenes with tobacco use.
Burton, D-San Francisco, says the trend is out of synch with the decline in tobacco use among adults, although not among children and young women.
He suggested that the industry voluntarily post warnings about tobacco's health risks before and after the showing of movies. But he stopped short of threatening legislation to increase tobacco taxes or to censor cigarette use in film scenes.
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