New rules in India are attempting to curb tobacco glorification on streaming platforms

India’s Ministry of Well being has issued strict pointers for on-demand video streaming providers, necessitating warnings about smoking and the usage of different tobacco merchandise when such actions are proven on display screen. The brand new rules, known as the Cigarettes and Different Tobacco Merchandise Modification Guidelines, 2023, will take impact in three months.

The up to date coverage mandates the inclusion of anti-tobacco well being spots, of no less than half a minute, on the opening and midway by means of this system. It additionally requires the distinguished show of a well being warning within the type of textual content on the backside of the display screen throughout sequences depicting tobacco use.

As well as, an audio-visual disclaimer describing the dangerous results of tobacco use is required at the start and midway by means of every program, not lower than 20 seconds lengthy. This clause is a crucial a part of the joint efforts of the Ministry of Well being to step up the anti-smoking marketing campaign.

Tobacco consumption in India is critical with the nation being one of many largest shoppers of tobacco on this planet. About 260 million adults in India use tobacco in some kind, smokeless tobacco being the most typical kind.

In an extra effort to curb the glorification of smoking, the coverage prohibits streaming platforms from displaying the branding of cigarettes or different tobacco merchandise. The identical merchandise may also not be utilized in promotional supplies for the platform’s content material.

The brand new guidelines empower representatives from each the Ministry of Well being and Household Welfare and the Ministry of Electronics and IT to take punitive motion if a streaming platform fails to conform.