Expert:

Dr. Amy B. Jordan

Director, Media and the Developing Child Sector

Annenberg Public Policy Center

University of Pennsylvania  

Research interests:

* Parents' and children's use of and attitudes toward television and movies  

* The impact of the Federal Communications Commission regulation of children's TV

* * The amount and quality of television for children on commercial, public and cable TV

Quote:

" We don't know exactly why youth are influenced by media portrayals of smoking.  Perhaps movies and the celebrities who star in them make smoking seem cool.  Another line of thinking is that pervasive smoking makes cigarette use seem normal, something everybody does when stressed out or at a party.  Finally, movie portrayals of smoking may actually teach young people how to smoke: how to light up, how to inhale, how to flick the ashes. "