R-rated movies make white teens smoke cigarettes?

White U.S. teenagers who watch a lot of R-rated movies or have unsupervised access to TV shows appear more likely than similar black youths to start smoking cigarettes, a study found on Monday.

Researchers found that white adolescents with the most exposure to R-rated movies were nearly seven times more likely to have started smoking compared to those with less exposure.

Even after taking into account such things as having a friend who smoked, lack of parental guidance or doing poorly in school, those who watched more R-rated movies were still three times more likely to start smoking, the study found.

White adolescents allowed unsupervised television viewing were also more likely to start smoking, the study said. Full article here.