Smoking on TV

German television should show less people smoking, according to the country's federal drug commissioner Sabine Bätzing.

"There has been a shift in thinking at the broadcasters," Bätzing said in Berlin on Tuesday.

Bätzing was presenting a study entitled "Smoking in Film and Television," which is now being published in full. The study, commissioned by the federal health ministry, came to the conclusion that there was more smoking in German series and films than in foreign productions, and significantly influences the smoking habits of children and young people.

The study's initial results were released in November. As a result, Bätzing contacted directors and those responsible for programming at the country's public and private television stations.

"They signaled a willingness to see to it that not smoking would be emphasized in their programming," Bätzing said.

Smoking stars as role models

According to the study, film scenes with cigarettes entice children and young people to begin smoking themselves. The study said their risk to become a smoker doubled when films they watched often contained scenes with smoking.

Bätzing said it was therefore necessary for the media to take its task as a role model seriously.

Stars who smoked were strong examples for children and youth, she said, encouraging more sensitivity and restraint from filmmakers and stations.

"Smoking in films and on television is not a dramaturgical means free of values," Bätzing said.

The German upper house of parliament Bundesrat will decide on Friday on smoking bans in federal offices, public buses and trains.