Seaway Valley Prevention: Reality Check

"It is important to know as much as possible about teenage smoking patterns and attitudes. Today's teenager is tomorrow's potential regular customer . . . 1981 Philip Morris market research report on young smokers. . : . Each day, about 4,000 kids try their first cigarette; and each day another 1,000 other kids under 18 years of age become new regular, daily smokers. Thats 416,000 new underage daily smokers each year. . : . 90 percent of all adult smokers begin while in their teens, or earlier, and nearly two-thirds become regular, daily smokers before they reach the age of 19. . : . The cigarette companies spend more than $15.1 billion each year to promote their deadly products that's more than $41 million spent every day to market cigarettes, and much of that marketing directly reaches and influences kids. . : . More than 6.3 million children under age 18 alive today will eventually die from smoking-related disease, unless current rates are reversed. Source: CDC, State Highlights 2006. . : . 440,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses every year, making it the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

Dan Glickman, President
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
1600 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20006

Dear Mr. Glickman,
The Motion Picture Association of America needs to protect young children from exposure to the number one cause of preventable death in this county- smoking.
Fifty-two percent of youth who start smoking were influenced to do so by their favorite movie actor smoking in a movie. I want Hollywood to get smoking out of movies rated G, PG and PG-13.
Sincerely,