Deseret News (Salt Lake City): 'Smoking out' Hollywood

It's easy to understand why performers smoke in the movies. A prop, such as a cigarette, gives them something to work with, something to fold into their portrayal. It can crystallize a character's personality. Garbo's elegance and Bogart's nervous toughness come to mind.

So should actors be allowed to smoke in films?

Yes. Smoking is legal and is a form of free expression.

Should actors know better than to smoke in their movies?

Of course.

Smoking is like playing Russian roulette with your health, and -- according to a recent study -- it is also playing Russian roulette with the health of America's youth.

The debate isn't about actors smoking. It is about whether or not the actions of actors influence the lives of youngsters. On that front, Hollywood has always wanted it both ways. Studios charge companies millions of dollars for the privilege of having their products showcased in films. But when it comes to drinking, smoking, violence, swearing and recklessness, Hollywood claims its movies have no sway in the lives of the American public.

Now a study has surfaced that undermines that claim. According to the Lancet medical journal, American youngsters who watch movies featuring actors who smoke a lot are three times more likely to embrace the habit themselves. It is the first study to assess children before they begin to smoke and to track them through their teen years.

Researchers at Dartmouth have concluded that 52 percent of youngsters take up smoking because they see movie stars do it. The study followed 2,603 children from schools in Vermont and New Hampshire between 10 and 14 years of age.

The Motion Picture Association has had no comment.

And that is fine.

The American public has heard enough comments. They are looking for action. Kids are at risk.

It's time movie stars -- indeed, all celebrities -- realize they must accept the burden for influencing American life for both good and ill. The day when Hollywood could throw its hands up and plead ignorance, innocence or indifference about behavior in America is over.

Tinseltown is not an isolated sanctuary, a haven away from the world.

It is, if anything, both a purveyor -- and prostitutor -- of America's attitudes, dreams, values and virtues.

And when it comes to smoking, Hollywood is a major enabler.