Depiction of Smoking in Movies Continues to Prompt Youth Smoking A new report, First Look: Trends in Top Box Office Movie Use, 1996-2004 was released by the American Legacy Foundation® and Dartmouth Medical School at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Washington, DC in July. The report found that during that eight-year time period, there was a significant decline in tobacco depictions in R-rated movies, but no decline in tobacco depictions in youth-rated movies (movies rated G, PG, and PG-13). Researchers reviewed 900 films, including the top 100 highest grossing films per year from 1996 to 2004 as their analysis. The study revealed tobacco depictions in over 70 percent of youth-rated films and 90 percent of movies with an R-rating. Also at the world conference, public health leaders released a helpful new guide for parents hoping to get educated about how smoking in the movies impacts their kids. The guide, called Screen Out, provides facts about smoking in the movies and the impact it has on youth smoking in America, as well as tips and advice for parents on how to discuss this issue with their kids and what steps parents can take in their communities to stem this problem. In connection with the release of the Legacy/Dartmouth research and the release of the parents guide, attorneys general across the nation have written to major film studios asking them to include anti-smoking ads in DVDs that contain smoking scenes. The Screen Out guide is available at http://smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu/pdf/ScreenOutGuide062606.pdf. The guide was created by the Smoke Free Movies Action Network and is endorsed by American Legacy Foundation®, American Heart Association and American Medical Association.