(Image Source: Erik Jaeger )

 

BY ELIZABETH RINEHART

ANCHOR ANA COMPAIN-ROMERO

 

A new study from European researchers likens binge drinking among teens with exposure to movies that feature alcohol. According to MedPage Today, their findings ...

 

“ … indicated that 27 percent (of teenagers) had consumed five or more drinks on at least one occasion … teens who had seen more alcohol use in movies were significantly more likely to have engaged in binge drinking.”

 

The researchers surveyed more than 16,500 teenagers up to age 19, in countries such as Poland, Iceland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Results were consistent...

 

" … even when they took other factors into account, such as a teen's level of rebelliousness, sensation-seeking, peer drinking, family drinking, affluence, gender and other factors, that the results were still significant." (Source: CNN )

 

Still, Babble points out this research doesn’t prove movies are directly to blame for binge drinking.

 

“The researchers say it’s hard to say which came first — the drinking or seeing the movies with drinking scenes — but they still believe there is a link.”

 

But, other doctors say Hollywood could deal with drinking the same way it deals with smoking. A doctor tells KLJB …

 

“‘There has been a big public health outcry directed at the movie industry that has shamed and embarrassed them that [contributed to a drop in] movie smoking,’ (...) ‘The same thing could and should happen with alcohol.’"

 

And another calls the study ‘not great’ and ‘poorly designed.’

 

“Just be aware of what your kids are watching. Talk to them. Keep the communication open. And let them know that what they see in the movies isn't always the way it's supposed to be.” (Source: WNYW )