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Universal Studios' "The Incredible Hulk" (PG-13) opens June 13 and is oneof the summer's most anticipated movies. The film is a follow-up to 2003's"Hulk," which was also PG-13 but did not contain tobacco imagery. GeneralThaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross is a character who did not smoke at all during hisappearances in the first film, but he is shown puffing on a cigar in nearlyevery scene in this sequel.
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"Shame on 'The Incredible Hulk' for unnecessarily adding smoking to asequel that would have been just as exciting and believable without it," saidDianne Fenyk, President of the Alliance. "Universal Studios and the otherHollywood studios should be especially embarrassed for using comic bookmovies, which they market to children and know youth will want to see, topromote tobacco."
Other recent examples of smoking in movies based on comic books orchildren's television series include: "Iron Man" (PG-13; 2008); "Speed Racer"(PG; 2008); "X-Men: The Last Stand" (PG-13; 2006); "Superman Returns" (PG-13;2006) and "Spider Man 2" (PG-13; 2004).
The AMA Alliance was also particularly surprised to find tobacco imagerybecause of the people involved in "The Incredible Hulk." Its leading actor,Edward Norton, has stated, "I don't smoke, and ... I am not a fan ofgratuitous smoking in films." And after Marvel Comics' editor-in-chief, JoeQuesada, lost his father to smoking-related lung disease, he took the boldstep of removing all smoking from Marvel characters that previously smoked.
"Movies remain a major influence on our children, affecting their behaviorand shaping their perceptions of what is normal -- and even 'cool,'" addedFenyk. "The motion picture industry knows this and has taken action by givingan R rating to movies that depict drug and alcohol use, strong language orsexual behavior, and violence. Yet smoking, the deadliest of all addictions,continues in youth-rated films, even when their own industry colleagues opposesmoking in films."
Experts estimate that 3,900 children ages 12-17 try their first cigaretteevery day in the United States. Studies also prove that 35 percent of newsmoking in children ages 9-12 can be attributed to exposure to smoking inmovies -- and that exposure to such tobacco imagery predicts establishedsmoking behavior in adolescents.
May 10th marked the one year anniversary of the Motion Picture Associationof America (MPAA) announcing a change to its rating systems for movies withsmoking. They stated that "all smoking will be considered" with the goal beingto enhance "the amount of information provided to parents on the issue ofsmoking in films."
But a year later, the MPAA continues to give PG and PG-13 ratings to filmswith smoking. According to an analysis by public health advocates of top boxoffice films released in the 12 months following the MPAA announcement,38 percent of G and PG movies and 58 percent of PG-13 movies featured tobaccoproducts. More than half of all top box office films with smoking in the2007-2008 time period were youth-rated.
The same 12-month study found that 9 out of 10 youth-rated films carriedno tobacco warning in its description at all, and there is no evidence thatthe MPAA increased the rating of any film to R because of smoking content.
"Over the last few years, tobacco market
