The American Medical Association and the Motion Picture Association of America are going head-to-head over the depiction of smoking in movies aimed toward children.

Reported by USA Today shows that a study conducted by the AMA Alliance, a volunteer branch of the AMA, states that 57-percent of movies rated G, PG, or PG-13 have featured characters smoking since 2002. The PG-13 films are said to have a shocking 67-percent featuring smoking.

The AMA Alliance accused the MPAA of failing to make good on its promise to include smoking in assessing a film’s suitability for showing to children.

Seth Oster, a spokesman for the MPAA, stepped up and said that its own studies show that 75-percent of the films that featured smoking over the past four years were rated R and that the ratings descriptions now incorporate such phrases as “glamorizes smoking” and “pervasive smoking.”

“The motion picture industry takes very seriously the issue of smoking in films,” Oster said.

By Tessa Petrocco

Tessa Petrocco is a freelance graphic designer and media professional. She graduated magna cum laude from Kent State University in 2007, earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Electronic Media Production. She moved to New York City that same year, where she worked as the Editorial Assistant and Content Coordinator for a popular film review website. Tessa enjoys spending time with her dog and boyfriend, knitting, volunteering and being a one-woman film reviewer.

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