A new study in the Faculty of Public Health’s Journal of Public Health finds that tobacco and alcohol usage are extremely common in British reality television shows, Scienmag reported.

The researchers measured 112 episodes on depictions of alcohol and tobacco products in shows such as Celebrity Big Brother, Made in Chelsea and Love Island, all broadcast on British channels between January and August 2018. According to the report, they measured the number of one-minute intervals containing tobacco and/or alcohol imagery, including actual use, implied use, tobacco or alcohol related materials, and product-specific branding, and estimated viewer exposure to the imagery on screen.
Tobacco content appeared in 20 episodes, in 110 or 2 per cent of all investigated intervals. Almost all (98 per cent) of this content occurred in a single reality TV series, Celebrity Big Brother. These included actual tobacco consumption, derived tobacco consumption and tobacco utensils, the report said. Tobacco branding was not present.
When all the data were combined with audience viewing figures and population estimates, the researchers estimate that the 112 episodes 214 million overall tobacco impressions to the UK population, including 47 million to children under 16. “Recent data shows that 44 per cent of 11-15 year-olds in England have had an alcoholic drink, and 19 per cent have tried smoking. Starting to smoke or drink alcohol at a young age is a strong predictor of dependence and continued use in later life,” the study’s lead author, Alexander Barker, was quoted as saying. “Given that seeing alcohol or tobacco imagery in the media promotes use among young people, this study therefore identifies reality television shows as a major potential driver of alcohol and tobacco consumption in young people in the UK. Tighter scheduling rules, such as restricting the amount of content and branding shown in these programmes, could prevent children and adolescents from being exposed to the tobacco and alcohol content.”