PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Barker, Alexander
AU  - Cranwell, Jo
AU  - Fitzpatrick, Iona
AU  - Whittamore, Kathy
AU  - Alfayad, Khaldoon
AU  - Haridy, Amira
AU  - Murray, Rachael
AU  - Britton, John
TI  - Tobacco and tobacco branding in films most popular in the UK from 2009 to 2017
AID  - 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-214743
DP  - 2020 Dec 01
TA  - Thorax
PG  - 1103--1108
VI  - 75
IP  - 12
4099  - http://thorax.bmj.com/content/75/12/1103.short
4100  - http://thorax.bmj.com/content/75/12/1103.full
SO  - Thorax2020 Dec 01; 75
AB  - Background Exposure to tobacco content in films is a cause of smoking uptake in young people. In an earlier study, we reported that tobacco content occurred in 70% of UK box office films popular between 1989 and 2008. We now report an analysis of tobacco content in a sample of the top grossing UK box office films between 2009 and 2017, and of population exposure resulting from audience exposure to the 2017 films.Methods Occurrence of tobacco intervals (actual tobacco use, implied use, appearance of smoking paraphernalia or branding) was measured by 5 min interval coding in the 15 most commercially successful films in the UK in each year from 2009 to 2017. A nationally representative survey was used to estimate population exposure to the top 15 films from 2017.Results We coded 3248 intervals from the 135 films. Tobacco content appeared in 245 intervals (8%, 95% CI 7% to 9%) across 56 (41%, 95% CI 33% to 49%) films. Tobacco content occurred in films in all BBFC age ratings, and 36 (64%, 95% CI 51% to 77%) of films containing tobacco imagery were classified as suitable for viewing by people aged under 15 years. Although less prevalent than in our earlier study, there was no evidence of a secular decline in tobacco content during this study period. The top 15 films from 2017 delivered approximately 21.6 (95% CI 21.06–22.14) million tobacco impressions to young people aged 10–18 years in the UK.Conclusions Tobacco content continues to appear in UK Box Office films and is widely seen by young people, representing a major driver of smoking uptake.