LOS ANGELES, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Movies which glamorize smoking or feature pervasive smoking could receive more-adult ratings to keep children from seeing them, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced Thursday.

    "With that in mind, the rating board chaired by Joan Graves will now consider smoking as a factor -- among many other factors,including violence, sexual situations and language -- in the rating of films," said Dan Glickman, MPAA's chairman and CEO.

    In the past, illegal teen smoking has been a factor in the rating of films, along with other parental concerns such as sex, violence and adult language.

    Now, all smoking will be considered and depiction that glamorize smoking or show pervasive smoking outside of an historic or other mitigating context may receive a stricter rating, according to the MPAA.

    If the film's rating is affected by the depiction of smoking, the rating will now include phrases such as "glamorized smoking" or "pervasive smoking."

    From July 2004 to July 2006, the percentage of films that included even a fleeting glimpse of smoking dropped from 60 percent to 52 percent, according to the MPAA.

    Of those films, 75 percent received an "R" rating for other factors. So, three out of every four films that contained any smoking at all over the past few years are already rated "R," according to the MPAA.