Tobacco, alcohol and junk food in reality TV shows

The consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and foods high in fat, sugar, or salt is highly prevalent in reality TV programs broadcast in England, even though it is now recognized that such exposure promotes reproductive mechanisms, particularly among young viewers. This is shown by the results of a study published in the Journal of Public Health, which analyzed the content of reality TV programs broadcast between 2019 and 2020.

The researchers included in their study all reality TV programs broadcast in England between August 2019 and August 2020, on television or on video-on-demand platforms. Each episode was divided into one-minute intervals to quantify the presence of these products in the broadcast content. Since the presence of these products can take different forms, it was classified into four categories:

• Consumption real: when the characters on screen consume these products, by smoking a cigarette, or by drinking alcohol, for example.
• Implicit consumption : when consumption as such is not visible on screen, but assumed. For example, when one of the characters announces that he is going to drink a beer, or when he takes a cigarette out of his pack.
• The appearance of accessories : when, for example, a lighter, an ashtray or a bottle of beer appears on the screen.
• The appearance of a brand : when a brand of these different products can be clearly identified[1].

Low presence of tobacco, but increasing compared to the last survey

The researchers viewed and coded 220.7 hours of content, corresponding to 13,244 one-minute intervals, 264 episodes, and 20 reality TV programs. Occurrences of tobacco consumption appear in 227 intervals (2% of the total), and in 43 episodes (also 2%). The most frequent appearance was that of accessories (211 intervals and 36 episodes), relaying images of ashtrays and lighters. Implicit consumption was observed in 24 intervals, out of 16 episodes. Actual consumption is identified in seven intervals (four episodes), while tobacco brands appear in two intervals (Camel, Lucky Strike, and Marlboro). While the tobacco occurrences are relatively low, they are nevertheless higher than the results of the previous survey, which counted the direct or indirect presence of tobacco in 110 intervals, an increase of 106% in one year.

Alcohol in 98% reality TV episodes

The researchers show that alcohol consumption is particularly present in reality TV programs broadcast in England. It appears in 5,167 intervals (39%), out of 258 episodes, or 98% of the total. The most frequent form is implied alcohol consumption, observed in 4,177 intervals and 250 episodes, most of the time with one of the characters holding a glass of alcohol. Alcohol accessories are present on screen in 2,369 intervals and 240 episodes. Finally, actual alcohol consumption was identified in 966 intervals and 212 episodes, while alcohol brands are present in 479 intervals and 122 episodes. In total, the researchers counted the presence of 149 alcohol brands, including Peroni, with 101 occurrences (59 intervals) and Johnnie Walker whisky, with 84 occurrences (15 intervals).

The strong presence of junk food in reality TV programs

The consumption of overly fatty, overly sweet, and overly salty products, sometimes grouped under the umbrella term "junk food," was observed in 1,752 intervals (13%), as well as in 234 out of 264 episodes (88%). The most common form recorded was the implicit consumption of these products, with 897 intervals out of 180 episodes. Actual consumption of these products occurred in 288 intervals and 137 episodes. In total, the researchers were able to identify 93 brands, appearing across 333 intervals and 102 episodes, with Coca-Cola (87 occurrences) and Pringles (44 occurrences) being identified most regularly.

High exposure of the British population, starting with the youngest

Finally, by taking into account the audience figures for each of these programs, the study was able to provide an estimate of the population's exposure to these different products. The researchers estimate that the presence of tobacco in these programs resulted in 157 million impressions among the British population, including 9.6 million among adolescents under 16. Similarly, the researchers estimate that junk food products appearing on screen were viewed 1.9 billion times by the population, including 136 million times by those under sixteen. Alcoholic products, for their part, benefited from 3.5 billion impressions, including nearly 200 million for younger people.

Circumvention logic on the part of manufacturers

Although British law prohibits the placement of paid alcoholic products, alcohol brands can still appear if their presence is editorially justified. As these researchers point out, it is conceivable that the alcohol industry could exploit reality TV programs to circumvent English regulations, given the high exposure of alcoholic products. Furthermore, current restrictions on junk food advertising do not include a ban on product placements in their favor, which could amplify these circumvention phenomena. Finally, the low presence of tobacco occurrences in this content tends to demonstrate that the clearer the regulations are and without exceptions, the more difficult it is to circumvent them.

FT