Are R-Rated Movies The New Gateway Drug?

A new study has found that kids who watch R-rated movies are more likely to smoke cigarettes. But before you rush home and burn your copies of Rain Man and Jerry Maguire, let’s take a closer look at the findings.

Researchers with the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) found that sixth graders who are allowed to watch R-rated movies (similar to the Australian M rating) are significantly more likely to believe they could get their hands on a cigarette if they wanted to. Because previous research has shown that kids who believe cigarettes are readily available are more likely to smoke, researchers are arguing that there is a direct link between R-rated movies and nicotine habits.

They can’t explain the reason for the link, but are speculating that R-rated movies may be more likely to glorify smoking, or that kids who watch films that “require an accompanying parent or guardian” are less likely to be supervised by a parent or guardian. Huh?

Oddly, there is no indication in the study that kids are watching these profane, sexually explicit movies without their parents. When I was in sixth grade, it would have been much easier for me to get a cigarette (all the older kids had them) than to watch, say, Pretty Woman, without my parent’s consent. They did, by the way, consent. And I did, truth be told, occasionally smoke clove cigarettes during my freshman year of college. Aha! These researchers may be on to something after all….

Photo: Wikipedia