The U.S. Surgeon General concluded in 2012 that watching actors smoke cigarettes in movies causes young teens to try smoking. The next Northern Michigan University psychology colloquium will focus on the larger social context of the tobacco epidemic and the scientific methods and evidence that led to the Surgeon General's conclusion.

Michael Stoolmiller of the department of pediatrics at Michigan State University will introduce a two-part, two-level latent variable model that may help to quantify how adult content in movies—sex, violence, alcohol and tobacco—leads to the onset of teen smoking. His talk is scheduled at 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, in 1318 Jamrich Hall. It is free and open to the public. 

For more information, contact the NMU psychology department at 227-2935.