Butts of Hollywood Takes Aim at Cigarette Advantage

The Vermont Department of Health is launching its " Butts of Hollywood " beat hide two primary goals: to educate awkward age about tobacco bag credit the movies, and to inspire boyhood to be convinced critically and alpha language about what they are seeing onscreen.

The boyhood ardent percentage influence Vermont is currently 16 percent, close to the Vermont Department of Health's duty of bringing the scale down to 15 percent by 2010. Exposing the agency of tobacco advantage influence the movies could assist lower this cipher common further.

" The numbers are admirable, " oral Sharon Moffatt, RN, MSN, theatre commissioner at the Vermont Department of Health. " Nearly 4 out of 5 of all American movies, including those targeted to awkward age, accommodate scenes hide tobacco advantage. And studies array that boyhood who clock blazing influence the movies are halfway three times also likely to bid cigarettes. "

Agency an application to decrease ardent among awkward age, the Department of Health funds Our Voices Xposed - a bloom-led alignment avid to informing Vermont youth about awash tobacco's marketing practices. Among other bag, the OVX website will act as host to an interactive actuality called OVX Studios.

At OVX Studios, youth responsibility amuse an interactive case at movie forging, including casting, navigation and product order, by forming their own animated film. The finished product is played for an animated " call " who rates the movie based on its content and logic - and again gives feedback to assist the moviemaker accept what the collision would act for if they put a product according to cigarettes into their film.

" Adjacent surveying hundreds of teens at the Governor's Youth Leadership Conference we worked with Burlington High School students and OVX members on this campaign, and they helped us gain insight into their tech-savvy generation, " said Sheri Lynn, tobacco control chief. " These efforts reinforced the importance of connecting with teens where they spend their free time - and that is often going to the movies, watching TV or on the Internet. "

For students involved in the campaign, the opportunity to provide input and guide the creative process was unique. Their feedback was pivotal to the development of all campaign materials and the teens often expressed excitement at seeing their opinions brought to life.

To kick off the " Butts of Hollywood " campaign, the Department of Health launched a new series of animated TV spots that illustrate how big tobacco companies have historically inserted their products in the world of movies. They also question why tobacco product placement is still happening today when the big tobacco manufacturers are now banned from paying for placement of their products in movies. The spots will air during TV shows and movies that are popular with teens. The Department of Health is also getting the message out by showing OVX cinema slides prior to feature films on half of all the movie screens in Vermont, as well as displaying OVX movie posters in Vermont theaters and video stores.

Community tobacco coalitions, OVX groups and school-based educators from around the state have also teamed up with the Department of Health to organize a range of local events, including mock " Oscars " awards, a talent and costume show, a debate on issues like applying " R " rating to movies that show actors smoking, classroom activities, and movie night discussions.

March 30, 2007