"The Saint" gone good. Smoking and drinking over time in the popular series.

Alcohol-related health and social problems are prevalent in almost all societies that consume alcohol and the presence of alcohol use in the movies is a known issue. The same holds true for smoking prevalence in film-making. The aim of this study is to assess tobacco-related content and alcohol consumption in "The Saint" series and movies. Five episodes from each "The Saint" TV series, from the '60s, were randomly selected. A predefined template was used for data collection and multiple variables were recorded and then analyzed. The main character was reported to smoke in 81.9% of episodes and consume alcohol in 87.1% episodes and similar were the results for supporting actors. Mean time to first cigarette and first drink ranged from 0.5 to 40 minutes and from 0.5 to 40.5 minutes, respectively. The prevalence of smoking and drinking in "The Saint" movies is high on average; however, the main character has ceased smoking and reduced alcohol consumption in the two contemporary movies, probably following the changes in the era and respecting the law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]