Iowa’s attorney general has joined with counterparts from 40 other states to ask a favor of Hollywood. Attorney General’s spokesman Bob Brammer says when movies are issued on video, they’d like to see one more “extra” — a public-service message telling kids not to smoke.
Brammer says it’s well established that hundreds of thousands of kids take up smoking, influenced by popular culture including depictions of smoking in movies. He says if we can’t get those depictions out of movies, putting an anti-smoking PSA on the front of the video could help prevent kids from taking up smoking.
They already put PSA’s on the disks, on other topics, so the A-G’s are asking the studios to put on these messages. The attorneys general even provided the public-service announcements, sent copies to the movie studios at no cost for unlimited use. These PSA’s, Brammer says, are proven to be effective. Created by the American Legacy Foundation, the PSA’s are described as hard-hitting, “in-your-face” ads proven effective at getting teens to consider the cost of smoking and make responsible decisions.