A study of the most popular movies of the past 20 years found that many included depictions of alcohol and other drug use, and that most that did tended to ignore the negative consequences, the Australian Associated Press reported May 15.

Researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia found that 68 percent of the films showed actors smoking, 32 percent depicted alcohol use, 8 percent showed marijuana use, and 7 percent included scenes of non-injecting drug use. Most showed alcohol, tobacco and other drug use in a positive light, the authors said.

"We know how susceptible to influence adolescents in particular are," said lead author Hasantha Gunasekera. "That's why tobacco companies are spending millions of dollars ... just to have their product placed in a one-second shot in a movie. I think it's ridiculous to assume this is having no influence on behavior."

"I'm not saying there should be no sex or drugs in movies," he added. "We want movies to be a reflection on life, but if it's a reflection on life, people have consequences when they use drugs. There are overdoses ... Why aren't the true depictions and the true consequences of these activities actually demonstrated and then people can make up their own mind what they want to do."