The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) announced a major change to the movie rating system today. In order to better provide parents with information on smoking in films, the MPAA has expanded their current system of ranking movies in which characters are shown smoking. The MPAA has always factored in teen smoking when awarding a rating, however now the organization has opened up its ruling to include adults smoking as well as scenes which glamorize smoking.
In a press release issued by the MPAA, Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman stated, "The MPAA film rating system has existed for nearly 40 years as an educational tool for parents to assist them in making decisions about what movies are appropriate for their children. It is a system that is designed to evolve alongside modern parental concerns. I am pleased that this system continues to receive overwhelming approval from parents, and is consistently described as a valuable tool they rely upon in making movie-going decisions for their families.”
“With that in mind, the rating board chaired by Joan Graves will now consider smoking as a factor — among many other factors, including violence, sexual situations and language — in the rating of films. Clearly, smoking is increasingly an unacceptable behavior in our society. There is broad awareness of smoking as a unique public health concern due to nicotine’s highly addictive nature, and no parent wants their child to take up the habit. The appropriate response of the rating system is to give more information to parents on this issue."
Glickman revealed ratings board members must now consider three questions when smoking appears in a film:
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1) Is the smoking pervasive?
2) Does the film glamorize smoking?
3) Is there an historic or other mitigating context?
'Glamorized smoking' or 'pervasive smoking' will be included in film rating descriptions, if they apply.
Glickman further stated, "Some have called for a ‘mandatory R’ rating on all films that contain any smoking. We do not believe such a step would further the specific goal of providing information to parents on this issue. Unfortunately, the debate on this extreme proposal has become heavily politicized, and many inaccurate statements have been made. While those pushing this proposal are no doubt wellintentioned, it is important that there is an accurate understanding of the declining prevalence of smoking in non-R rated films. The rating board has comprehensively reviewed depictions of smoking in every rated film over the past several years. From July 2004 to July 2006, the percentage of films that included even a fleeting glimpse of smoking dropped from 60 percent to 52 percent. Of those films, 75 percent received an ‘R’ rating for other factors. So, three out of every four films that contained any smoking at all over the past few years are already rated ‘R.’"
Source: MPAA
