This study of prime-time television series serves as a companion piece to last year's examination of substance portrayals in popular movies and music.²⁸ This allows us to compare how the different media depict substance use. However, the content of movies, music and television is developed for different audiences and delivered under different regulatory and economic constraints. This gives rise to fundamental differences among the media in terms of which topics are addressed and how any given topic is handled. At the most basic level, each unit varies greatly in length: a 2-hour motion picture, a 26-minute situation comedy, and a 5-minute popular song are simply not equivalent. Other obvious differences among media pertain to the number of characters that can be depicted, how familiar these characters become to the audience, the depth in which any given topic or behavior can be portrayed, and the length of time any given behavior can appear.

In addition, because television messages are transmitted over public airwaves, they are subject to a variety of FCC regulations that do not apply to movies or popular recordings (except, of course, when they are transmitted on public airwaves). In short, because each medium requires somewhat different strategies for quantifying substance depictions, precise comparisons among these media are not possible. Nevertheless, with that caveat in mind, we offer several comparative observations about how movies and television portray substances. Popular song lyrics are verbal and brief, and do not allow for these comparisons.

Movies and television seem equally likely to include references to illegal drugs. Illicit drugs were referenced in 20 percent of the 168 television episodes examined in this study, and appeared in 22 percent of the 200 movies examined last year. However, movies are far more likely than television to show illicit drug use. When illicit drug references occur on television, they are much more likely to be talked about than to be shown. Illicit drug use was shown in just 3 percent of the television episodes, as opposed to 17 percent of movies. Similarly, major characters were shown actually using illicit drugs in 2 percent of television episodes but in 12 percent of movies.

The two media also differ in the frequency of anti-use statements about illicit drugs; that is, negative or critical statements about drugs, drug use or drug users. Forty-one (41) percent of the television episodes that referred to illicit drugs contained an anti-use statement, but just 9 percent of the movies did. In addition, 67 percent of the television episodes with portrayals of illicit drug use mentioned some kind of negative consequence (e.g., loss of control, vomiting, loss of employment). By comparison, 52 percent of the movies that portrayed illegal drug use failed to depict any consequences whatsoever.

Differences in how movies and television portray alcohol and tobacco were also observed. Tobacco appeared in about one-fifth (22 percent) of the television episodes and alcohol in about three-fourths (77 percent). Both substances, however, were almost universal in movies: tobacco use was portrayed in 89 percent of motion pictures and alcohol consumed in 93 percent. The likelihood of a major character being shown consuming alcohol in the two media was roughly equal: 65 percent of 669 adult major characters in movies consumed alcohol versus 61 percent of 211 adult major characters in television. About 4 percent of the 80 top-rated television episodes portrayed underage alcohol use while underage drinking appeared in 15 percent of the top 200 movies. Finally, a major character was substantially more likely to use tobacco in a movie (25 percent of adult major characters smoked) than in the television programming examined in this study (8 percent of adult major characters smoked).

Negative statements about smoking were expressed in 22 percent of the 172 movies in which smoking was portrayed and in 23 percent of the 31 television episodes in which smoking was portrayed. The percentage of alcohol-related anti-use statements was also roughly comparable across the two media; 8 percent of 119 television episodes and 9 percent of 183 movies in which alcohol use was portrayed contained anti-use statements. Pro-use statements, on the other hand, were more likely to be encountered in movies (20 percent in which alcohol was portrayed) than in the comparable set of television episodes (3 percent of those in which alcohol was portrayed). A drink was refused in a higher proportion of movies (14 percent) than television episodes (1 percent). Alcohol use was associated with "no consequences" in 57 percent of the movies in which it occurred, but with negative consequences in 67 percent of the television episodes in which it occurred.

In conclusion, setting aside the issue of whether or not MPAA ratings serve to control young people's access to movies, it seems that prime-time television series offer a somewhat safer environment for young viewers than do popular motion pictures. Illicit drugs are substantially less likely to be portrayed concretely in television series than in movies, and when they are referred to, television is more likely to associate illicit drugs with anti-use sentiments and negative consequences, and less likely to link them to pro-use statements. Finally, young viewers are also substantially less likely to observe smoking on television, and slightly less likely to observe alcohol consumption.

²⁸ Roberts, D.F., Henriksen, L., Christenson, P. (1999). Substance Use in Popular Movies and Music, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Mediascope.