The Health Ministry of India is bound to issue a notification for the amendment of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Rules, 2004. This aims to mandate the OTT platforms to show anti-tobacco warnings and disclaimers which are seen in television programmes and movies released in theatres.
As per the draft notification, online curated content displaying or showing the usage of tobacco products is obligated to show health spots of 30 seconds along with an antic-smoking message Message appears as a static message on the screen bottom when the content shows tobacco products or its usage. Audio-visual disclaimers of 20 seconds explaining the harmful effects of smoking are mandated at the beginning and middle of the programme. Additionally, “Tobacco causes cancer” or “Tobacco kills” warnings must be displayed.
This is to completely neutralize the campaigning of tobacco use and its effects during the online program streaming. OTT Platforms, especially the generation of teens, are also being taken into consideration where the usage of tobacco products are commonly seen in web series, movies and other shows.
Ranjit Singh, an advocate in the Supreme Court, claims that this amendment to the rules will make India as the global leader in regulating tobacco-promoting entertainment medium. He further urges that the COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act), since 2003, has taken significant action to ban the tobacco advertising.
Moreover, Binoy Mathew is the Program Manager at the Voluntary Health Association of India who positively advocates the amendment, as the increasing demand for streaming services during the pandemic has led to displaying students in school uniform smoking tobacco quite frequently. He believes that this amendment, once issued, will bring a huge change in the online curated content.
Google searches for the ‘COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003’ reveal that the act was enforced to have a check on the use of tobacco. It bans the direct and indirect advertisement of tobacco products and discourages its active users. This Act benefits the citizens of India in terms of reducing the damaging effects of tobacco and imposing a restriction on its use.
Thus, the intention of these amendments is to set an example to the world that India can be a world leader in terms of tobacco regulations. With these steps taken, India has made sure to discourage and diminish the use of tobacco products and thus, protect the citizens of the nation from hazardous health conditions.
