Young adults who watched the most movies depicting smoking were 77 percent more likely to have recently smoked and 86 percent more likely to become regular smokers compared to those who rarely watched such movies, WebMD reported Oct. 3.

Researcher Stanton Glantz, Ph.D., of the University of California at San Francisco and colleagues reported the findings on a study of the relationship between smoking among 18- to 25-year-olds and exposure to smoking in movies. Glantz said that the more movies with smoking young adults watched, the more likely they were to smoke, with smoking rising 21 percent for each 25 percent increase in exposure to movies with smoking scenes.

Past studies have found similar relationships between tobacco use and movie smoking among adolescents. "Movies encourage them to experiment, and once they start experimenting with cigarettes other factors take hold," said Glantz. "Movies create the expectation that smoking will turn out OK."

The research appears in the November 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.