By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Even though smoking appears far less frequently in U.S. television shows than it used to, its portrayal may still be triggering the urge in adult smokers, according to a new study. Researchers reviewed patterns in TV smoking over more than 50 years and found that they tracked with changes in adult tobacco use, suggesting that even established smokers are influenced to light up by seeing it done on the small screen. "Movie tobacco cues promoting smoking initiation in teens have been extensively covered in the literature, but this paper emphasizes that TV programming-promoted tobacco has been understudied and may be important as well," said lead study author Patrick E. Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. An effective cue "should promote smoking initiation, reinforce a current smoking habit and make it harder for smokers to quit," he told Reuters Health in an email, and smoking on television appears to fit that bill.
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