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• AMA Alliance Warns Parents About Smoking in 'The Incredible Hulk,' Other Summer Blockbusters 

The American Medical Association (AMA) Alliance warned parents today of yet another Hollywood film that exposes underage audiences to unnecessary smoking: "The Incredible Hulk." The AMA Alliance, the volunteer arm of the American Medical Association (AMA), includes more than 27,000 grassroots members working in their communities to protect children and promote healthy lifestyles. Over the past two years, they have paid particular attention to smoking in motion pictures, and they are calling for an R rating for any film with irresponsible or gratuitous tobacco images.

Universal Studios' "The Incredible Hulk" (PG-13) opens June 13 and is one of the summer's most anticipated movies. The film is a follow-up to 2003's "Hulk," which was also PG-13 but did not contain tobacco imagery. General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross is a character who did not smoke at all during his appearances in the first film, but he is shown puffing on a cigar in nearly every scene in this sequel. . . .

Other recent examples of smoking in movies based on comic books or children's television series include: "Iron Man" (PG-13; 2008); "Speed Racer" (PG; 2008); "X-Men: The Last Stand" (PG-13; 2006); "Superman Returns" (PG-13; 2006) and "Spider Man 2" (PG-13; 2004). . . .

"Movies remain a major influence on our children, affecting their behavior and shaping their perceptions of what is normal -- and even 'cool,'" added Fenyk. "The motion picture industry knows this and has taken action by giving an R rating to movies that depict drug and alcohol use, strong language or sexual behavior, and violence. Yet smoking, the deadliest of all addictions, continues in youth-rated films, even when their own industry colleagues oppose smoking in films."

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