Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
An analysis of the top ten prime time fictional series from the 1979–80 television season indicates a near complete absence of smoking and illicit drug incidents. By contrast, the offering and consumption of alcoholic beverages is markedly larger than found in prior studies which did not separate out top-rated programs from lesser viewed shows. The incidence of alcohol consumption for the top ten shows at the end of the season ranged from 3 to 16.5 incidents per program hour. A parallel analysis of the two top-rated soap operas for the season yielded a lower drinking rate and a similar absence of smoking and drug incidents.
Bradley S. Greenberg (Tue,) studied this question.