NEW DELHI: The health ministry is consulting the information & broadcasting ministry and other key stakeholders on issuing a notification to OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar to carry anti-tobacco warning messages like we see in movies screened in theatres and TV programmes.
All films and programmes shown in theatres and television channels are supposed to display an anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent static message at the bottom of the screen during the period of display of the tobacco products or their use in the film and television programme. They are also supposed to display an anti-tobacco health spot, of minimum thirty seconds duration each at the beginning and middle of the films and television programme.
Senior officials told TOI the discussions are currently in advanced stages to issue the notification for anti-tobacco warnings on OTT platforms.
According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (2019), nearly one-fifth of students aged 13-15 have used tobacco in some form. Median age for initiation of cigarette and bidi smoking, and smokeless tobacco use were 11.5 years, 10.5 years, and 9.9 years respectively, the survey revealed.
A study on tobacco imagery in online series popular among adolescents and young adults that was conducted by experts from the Public Health Foundation of India and the World Health Organization in 2019 showed the median number of tobacco incidents per episode in foreign productions were higher than Indian productions.
Bhavna Mukhopadhyay, who is the chief executive of Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), recently told TOI the lack of a law to regulate anti-tobacco content shown on OTT platforms was a serious lacunae considering their wide reach amongst all the sections and age groups of the society.
“Intoxication is a serious issue and when it is shown in the digital media, it glamorises a vice, which is a serious threat to social health,” Anand Mishra, an advocate on record at the Supreme Court, said.
All films and programmes shown in theatres and television channels are supposed to display an anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent static message at the bottom of the screen during the period of display of the tobacco products or their use in the film and television programme. They are also supposed to display an anti-tobacco health spot, of minimum thirty seconds duration each at the beginning and middle of the films and television programme.
Senior officials told TOI the discussions are currently in advanced stages to issue the notification for anti-tobacco warnings on OTT platforms.
According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (2019), nearly one-fifth of students aged 13-15 have used tobacco in some form. Median age for initiation of cigarette and bidi smoking, and smokeless tobacco use were 11.5 years, 10.5 years, and 9.9 years respectively, the survey revealed.
A study on tobacco imagery in online series popular among adolescents and young adults that was conducted by experts from the Public Health Foundation of India and the World Health Organization in 2019 showed the median number of tobacco incidents per episode in foreign productions were higher than Indian productions.
Bhavna Mukhopadhyay, who is the chief executive of Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), recently told TOI the lack of a law to regulate anti-tobacco content shown on OTT platforms was a serious lacunae considering their wide reach amongst all the sections and age groups of the society.
“Intoxication is a serious issue and when it is shown in the digital media, it glamorises a vice, which is a serious threat to social health,” Anand Mishra, an advocate on record at the Supreme Court, said.
