Exposure to Alcohol Use in Movies and Problematic Use of Alcohol: A Longitudinal Study Among Latin American Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: This study assesses the association between exposure to alcohol in movies and alcohol use transitions among Latin American adolescents. METHOD: A school-based longitudinal study involving 33 secondary schools in Argentina and 57 in Mexico was performed. The baseline sample included 1,504 never drinker adolescents in Argentina and 5,264 in Mexico (mean age = 12.5 years), of whom 1,055 and 3,540, respectively, completed a follow-up survey a year and a half later. Exposure to the 500 popular contemporary films was assessed by querying adolescents on 50 randomly selected titles. Films were content-coded for alcohol and exposure estimated from films seen. Logistic regression models estimated adjusted relative risk (aRR) for the following outcomes, net covariates, at follow-up: use of alcohol (having ever drank), current drinking (drinking in the past 30 days), ever binge drinking (≥ 4 drinks [females] or 5 for males). RESULTS: At follow-up, respective adolescent drinking rates for Mexico and Argentina were 31% and 36% for use of alcohol, 18% and 27% for current drinking, and 8% and 19% for ever binge drinking. Greater exposure to alcohol in movies was independently associated with trying alcohol (aRR = 1.30, 95% CI [1.17, 1.43]), current drinking (aRR = 1.22, 95% CI [1.03, 1.44]), and binge drinking (aRR = 1.71, 95% CI [1.30, 2.25]) in Mexican adolescents, whereas in Argentina, movie alcohol exposure was associated only with trying alcohol (aRR = 1.25, 95% CI [1.02, 1.53]). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to alcohol in movies predicted underage drinking transitions in these Latin American adolescents, replicating prior results for U.S. and European cohorts.

Movies promote tobacco use amongst adolescents: The need for policies to prevent this phenomenon.

Tobacco use is the primary preventable cause of death and disability in the world. To combat the tobacco epidemic, most countries have signed and ratified the World Health Organzation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Article 13 of this treaty requires implementation of a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Implementation guidelines for Article 13 recognize that the depiction of tobacco use in commercially-produced films promotes tobacco use amongst young people. In this article we review the relationship between the tobacco industry and the movie industry over the past 100 years; the cross sectional and longitudinal studies that demonstrate a causal relationship between exposure to movie smoking depictions and youth smoking initiation; and the policy interventions recommended by the WHO to limit youth exposure to tobacco in movies.

El consumo de Tabaco es la primera causa de mortalidad prevenible en el mundo. Para combatir esta epidemia, los países miembros de la Organización Mundial de la Salud han firmado, y la mayoría de ellos ratificado, el Convenio Marco para el Control del Tabaco. El articulo 13 de este tratado toda forma de publicidad, promoción y patrocinio del tabaco. Las guías para la implementación de este artículo reconocen que la presencia de tabaco en el cine es una forma de promoción de los productos del tabaco dirigida principalmente a los jóvenes.En esta revisión describimos la relación entre la industria del cine y la del tabaco en los últimos 100 año, los estudios de corte transveral y longitudinales que demiuestran como la exposición a tabaco en el cine induce a los jóvenes a iniciarse en el tabaquismo, y las políticas públicas recomendadas para evitar la presencia de tabaco en el cine, al menos en las películas para niños y adolescentes.

An Increasing Trend of Illicit Drug use among Romanian University Students from 1999 to 2011.

AIM: The present study investigates the evolution of illicit drug use among Romanian university students from 1999 to 2011. METHODS: The study was performed in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in three phases: in 1999 (T1), in 2003 (T2) and in 2011 (T3). The study was carried out by means of anonymous questionnaires among university students aged 19-24. RESULTS: The results show that among girls the lifetime illicit drugs use increased statistically significantly from 2.5% in 1999 to 7.5% in 2003 and to 15% in 2011. Among boys the trend was also increasing, the prevalence of illicit drug use was 14.2% at T1, 18.1% at T2, and it increased dramatically to 30.6% at T3. The percentage of students reporting cannabis use was almost identical with the total prevalence of illicit drug use. Ecstasy was the second most frequent drug used by the students; its consumption had also an increasing trend during the examined periods (from 0 to 5.6% among girls and from 0.8% to 11.2% among boys). The results of the bivariate correlation analyses show that lifetime illicit drug use was associated with having friends who experimented with illicit drugs both among boys and girls. Moreover, girls who declared stress management problems and depressive episodes were more likely to try illicit drugs, while among boys illicit drug use was associated with poorer academic performance. CONCLUSIONS: The data pointed out by our study call for comprehensive actions regarding the prevention of illicit drug use among Romanian young people.

Does neighborhood social cohesion modify the relationship between neighborhood social norms and smoking behaviors in Mexico?

The aim of this study was to examine the separate and combined relationships of neighborhood social norms and neighborhood social cohesion with smoking behavior in a cohort of adult Mexican smokers. Neighborhood anti-smoking norms were measured as the proportion of residents in each neighborhood who believed that society disapproves of smoking. Perceived social cohesion was measured using a 5-item cohesion scale and aggregated to the neighborhood level. Higher neighborhood anti-smoking norms were associated with less successful quitting. Neighborhood social cohesion modified the relationship between neighborhood social norms and two smoking behaviors: smoking intensity and quit attempts. Residents of neighborhoods with weaker anti-smoking norms and higher social cohesion had lower smoking intensity and more quit attempts than residents living in other areas. Social cohesion may help buffer smoking behavior in areas with weak social norms.

Perceived effectiveness of pictorial health warnings among Mexican youth and adults: a population-level intervention with potential to reduce tobacco-related inequities.

PURPOSE: Pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages are a prominent and effective means of communicating the risks of smoking; however, there is little research on effective types of message content and socio-demographic effects. This study tested message themes and content of pictorial warnings in Mexico. METHODS: Face-to-face surveys were conducted with 544 adult smokers and 528 youth in Mexico City. Participants were randomized to view 5-7 warnings for two of 15 different health effects. Warnings for each health effect included a text-only warning and pictorial warnings with various themes: "graphic" health effects, "lived experience", symbolic images, and testimonials. RESULTS: Pictorial health warnings were rated as more effective than text-only warnings. Pictorial warnings featuring "graphic" depictions of disease were significantly more effective than symbolic images or experiences of human suffering. Adding testimonial information to warnings increased perceived effectiveness. Adults who were female, older, had lower education, and intended to quit smoking rated warnings as more effective, although the magnitude of these differences was modest. Few interactions were observed between socio-demographics and message theme. CONCLUSIONS: Graphic depictions of disease were perceived by youth and adults as the most effective warning theme. Perceptions of warnings were generally similar across socio-demographic groups.

School-based smoking prevention programmes: ethical aspects.

School-based health education has the potential to inform and educate young people, in order to promote healthy behaviours among them, which will help to prevent diseases and social problems. The present study gives an overview of several ethical issues which must be considered in different phases of school-based smoking prevention programs. This will help health educators, public health professionals and researchers in their activity of health education in schools. The ethical issues must be taken into consideration during all the activities and refer to the involvement of officials, schools, parents, young people who participate into the program, authors and persons/institutions responsible with the implementation, evaluation or funding of the programs. The application into practice of these ethical principles, influence the quality of the health education, its acceptability BY the target group and the correctness of results. Also, it prevents possible problems and misunderstandings between persons and institutions involved in the health education and smoking prevention process, which could seriously affect and even destroy implementation of such health education activities.

[Social marketing and public policies for health: campaign to promote smoke-free spaces in Mexico]. / Mercadotecnia social y políticas públicas de salud: campaña para promover espacios libres de humo de tabaco en México.

"Porque todos respiramos lo mismo" is a mass media campaign to promote smoke-free places (SFP). The development stages were: strategic planning; formative research; message development; media plan; and impact evaluation. Development involved formation of a coalition of key actors in various sectors. The target population was smokers and nonsmokers, with the aim of changing social norms around SFP. Nonsmokers were targeted because they comprised the majority and were most likely to appreciate the benefits of SFPs. Campaign materials were aired on television, radio, print and on billboards. One key limitation was the lack of evidence for previous campaigns, which increased the importance of formative research and of including a rigorous evaluation for this one. The campaign evaluation indicates a significant impact, which suggests that future campaigns use similar strategies in their development.