Now, anti-tobacco warning must on OTT shows

The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday made it mandatory for all OTT content to carry on-screen anti-tobacco messages and warnings in the same manner as is the case with movies and television content.

The government decision follows long-time demands by public health campaigners and anti-tobacco activists who wanted such a regulation to protect youngsters from the harmful effects of tobacco as many web series and other online content are popular among the youth.

According to the notification that came out on World No Tobacco Day, publishers of online curated content displaying tobacco products or their use will be required to show anti-tobacco health spots each of a minimum of 30 seconds at the beginning and middle of the programme.

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In addition, the platforms shall be required to exhibit an anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent static message at the bottom of the screen when tobacco products or their use are displayed during the programme.

Also, an audio-visual disclaimer of a minimum of 20 seconds on the ill effects of tobacco use will have to be also displayed at the beginning and middle of the programme, the source stated.

“Even though there has been a decline in tobacco promotion since 2012 when the anti-tobacco rules were brought in for films and television content, there is widespread violations in streaming contents,” anti-tobacco campaigner Monika Arora from Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), a non-governmental organisation told DH.

In a peer-reviewed study published in 2019, Arora and colleagues analysed ten popular web series on Netflix and Amazon Prime including Marvellous Mrs Maisel, The Crown, Sacred Games and Mirzapur to show that the US-made content carried a higher proportion of tobacco-related content than Indian shows.

“According to the new notification the onus of implementing the rules is on the main publisher of online content,” she said.

The government in 2012, after years of litigation with the film industry, enforced rules to regulate the depiction of tobacco products and their use in movies and broadcasting. While these rules were implemented fairly in films and television, the OTT platforms remained largely unregulated.

This became a serious concern when the popularity of streaming platforms, especially among teens, shot up exponentially during the Covid-19 triggered lockdown.

There was rampant depiction of tobacco imagery on OTT platforms wherein teens in school uniform were overtly shown smoking and product placement was evident, ridiculing India’s tobacco control law and its intent, Voluntary Health Association of India said in a statement.

Following the notification, an inter-ministerial committee comprising officials from the ministries of health, information and broadcasting, and electronics and IT will take action in case of a violation. The new rules will also be applicable to podcasts and other online content.

“With the growing popularity of streaming services, viewers around the world are increasingly exposed to content glorifying smoking and tobacco use. India’s new regulations will ensure that streaming services are not the next vehicle for tobacco industry’s aggressive targeting of Indian youth,” said Yolonda Richardson, a senior executive from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.