Exposure to tobacco and alcohol content in the media is a risk factor for subsequent tobacco and alcohol uptake and use in children and adolescents. The Smoke and Alcohol Free Media project’s aim is to investigate the tobacco and alcohol content of popular media in the UK; including films, television, video-on-demand services (such as Netflix), music videos, magazines, computer games and social media.

The Smoke and Alcohol Free Media project has resulted in a series of published studies where we have quantified alcohol and tobacco content across different media formats and measured the child and adolescent exposure to this content.

By investigating the tobacco and alcohol content in popular media, and the subsequent exposure to this, we can determine whether current guidelines and regulations on tobacco and alcohol in the media are enough to protect children and adolescents from this content.

UK Smoke and Alcohol Free Media is a project set up and run by the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies (UKCTAS). UKCTAS is a UKCRC Centre of Public Health Research Centre of Excellence which has received funding from the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Medical Research Council and the Department of Health.