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Berkeley,
California (Wednesday, June 27, 2007) - In
a song-lyric analysis conducted by Berkeley youth, 48 percent of the
songs most popular among Berkeley youth were found to have
references to “blunts”--
cigars filled with marijuana that are a very popular, yet
unacknowledged, method of smoking tobacco.
The song
and music video analysis activity is a part of the Mixed Messages
Campaign and aims to engage youth in media literacy and critical
thinking. The program is sponsored by the City of Berkeley Public
Health Division’s Tobacco Prevention Program.
In
the most recent activity, the youth peer educators analyzed a sample
of 81 of the top-played songs on Bay Area radio stations, and found
that 38 percent mentioned cigarette smoking, while 49 percent of the
songs were perceived by youth to have a pro-tobacco or ‘cool’
message. A number of
contemporary artists mention and glamorize, tobacco use, including
cigars, blunts, cigarettes and hookahs in their songs.
“Since
19% of all Berkeley deaths are caused by tobacco use, we are very
concerned that Berkeley’s youth are unduly influenced by the
pro-tobacco messages they are receiving in various forms of
entertainment, including in popular songs and music videos,” said
Berkeley’s Public Health Officer, Linda Rudolph, MD, MPH.
In
addition to analyzing song lyrics and music videos for references
and images of tobacco, the youth peer educators take social action
against the glamorization of tobacco usage by the music industry by
collecting petition signatures, conducting advocacy on the social
networking website MySpace, and by writing letters to video
producers, music artist, and recording labels. Students have
contacted labels such as Def Jam Recordings, expressing praise for
the music and the artists, but asking them to entertain without
tobacco references.
Since
2005, nearly 2,600 Berkeley youth have participated in the Mixed
Messages Campaign, which promotes opportunities for 12-24 year
olds to take action against the glamorization of tobacco in the
music industry. UC Berkeley
and Berkeley High School students deliver the interactive Mixed
Messages curricula to younger students in the Berkeley schools,
community centers, and summer camps.
For more information on Mixed Messages and other tobacco
prevention initiatives, contact: QuitNow@ci.berkeley.ca.us
or (510) 981-5330.
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