Tobacco Content in Video Games: Categorization of Tobacco Imagery and Gamer Recall.

Abstract

Tobacco content has been identified in popular video games played by adolescents. To date, there are no established instruments for categorizing tobacco content. We describe development and demonstrate the use of an instrument to categorize types of tobacco content. Interviews were conducted with 61 participants: 20 adolescents (mean age 17.7), and 41 adults (mean age 23.9), who discussed favorite games and recalled tobacco content. All games mentioned were examined for tobacco content by watching movies of game play on YouTube, examining individual game Wiki sites, and reviewing content descriptors provided by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), Common Sense Media, and the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). A typology of tobacco content was created and correlated with gamer recall of tobacco content. Participants together mentioned 366 games, of which 152 were unique. Tobacco content was verified in 39.5% (60/152) of games. Six categories of content were identified, including "no tobacco content." Of games containing tobacco, 88% (53/60) contained at least two categories of content. Games with more categories were associated with greater gamer recall of tobacco content. Tobacco content is present in video games and consciously recalled by players, with higher accuracy of recall associated with games featuring multiple types of tobacco content and more engaging, player-active content. Playing video games is now a daily part of most adolescents' lives. Tobacco content is present in many popular games. Currently there are no published instruments to assist in categorizing tobacco content in video games. This study describes a systematic approach to categorize tobacco content in video games and demonstrates that games featuring more categories of tobacco content are associated with more accurate gamer recall of the presence of tobacco content when compared with games with fewer categories of content. Understanding the extent of such content will be essential in formulating tobacco control strategies to address tobacco content in games.