365telugu.com,online news,Hyderabad, September 11,2020: Public Health Organizations, schools students, teachers and parents have urge the Government of India to act against tobacco advertising and glamorization of tobacco use in OTT platforms, in order to protect the children from exposure to tobacco products display on these OTT platforms.A recent study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), “Tobacco imagery in on-demand streaming content popular among adolescents and young adults in India: implications for global tobacco control” revealed that OTT platforms are flouting Government of India regulations on exposure to tobacco imagery. The study assessed tobacco depictions in ten television series available via on-demand streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, and many others. Incidents of tobacco use and tobacco brands in each series were counted, and compliance with Indian Laws was recorded.The BMJ study revealed that there is rampant depiction of tobacco use and tobacco brand placement. The shows with tobacco depictions included both foreign-produced and Indian-produced series and most were rated for viewers below 18 years, thus targeting youth and children. Many of the series showed tobacco brands as well as close ups of tobacco products and tobacco usage. None of the series included anti-tobacco static warning messages, anti-tobacco health spots, or audio visual disclaimers about the ill effects of tobacco use.The implementing guidelines for Article 13 of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recommends that Parties should prohibit the use of tobacco brands or imagery in entertainment media and require anti-tobacco advertisements. India is a global leader in meeting these requirements of the WHO FCTC.
Section 5 of India’s Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) imposes a complete ban on tobacco advertising and promotion in any form of media. Section 5 of COTPA is blatantly being violated in the OTT platforms.The 2012 Rules (G.S.R. 786(E)) – notified under COTPA in pursuance of the prohibition on tobacco advertising – require a broadcaster of television programmes to display anti-tobacco disclaimers, spots and messages in all films and television programmes depicting tobacco products or their use.The BMJ study is limited to ten television series but it provides conclusive evidence that the streaming services are completely disregarding India’s high standards for restricting and containing tobacco depictions in the media. It is even the case that movies with tobacco depictions that include the appropriate anti-tobacco disclaimers, spots and messages when shown in cinemas or on cable networks, are made available on the streaming platforms without the anti-tobacco messages.This is of particular concern because on demand streaming platforms are becoming increasingly popular in India, especially with young viewers. A 2019 study by KPMG reported that there were 325 million viewers of on-demand streaming platforms in India, and that young people (age 15-24) spent an average of 70 minutes per day watching online video content.
According to sources, MoHFW has recently sent a letter to Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology highlighting that the tobacco film rules are applicable on OTT platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hotstar as well and strict action may kindly be taken for prohibiting the depiction of tobacco use through streaming media in connection with the extant provisions under COTPA, 2003.Bhavna Mukhopadhyay, Chief Executive, Voluntary Health Association of India – “The streaming media has become a haven for promotion of tobacco use and this extensive promotion is to undermine Government film rules and provisions discourage tobacco use. We urged the Government to take necessary action to ensure these online streaming platforms are compliant with COTPA, relevant rules and any other applicable laws in order to protect the children from exposure to tobacco products display on the OTT platforms”A study conducted by World Health Organization and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India revealed that 76% of Indian movies had tobacco use shown in them and 52.2% of children in India who had their first smoke were influenced by tobacco use depicted in movies.Ms. Naga Sirisha, Parent of a Student says – “It is shocking to see the glamorization of tobacco use in these OTT platforms. It is well established that exposure to tobacco imagery in the media increases the likelihood of tobacco uptake in adolescents and young adults and that this relationship is causal.Children and youth are sparing their time more online and for entertainment purposes OTT platforms are in trend. Due to unprecedented events of COVID 19, people especially youngsters are spending time on OTT platforms due to restrictions on movie halls. They are getting influenced by tobacco consumption shown in movies, series, and short films streamed on OTT platforms as at present there are no regulations imposed on OTT platforms regarding tobacco consumption display.
In this phase where dependency on online platforms has increased, young minds are getting attracted towards such dangerous portray of tobacco consumption openly by characters of different roles on various OTT platforms.Recently, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Hotstar, and 12 other online video-streaming platforms and curated content providers signed a self-regulation code, allowing consumers to report policy violations on their content.The latest Universal Self-Regulation Code released by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) a week back includes a framework for age-classification and content descriptions and parental controls in combination with a grievance-redressal system.As per the National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020, released by The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru, estimates that in 2020 cancer cases in the country will be at 13.9 lakh and likely to increase to 15.7 lakhs by 2025, based on current trends. In 2020, tobacco related cancers are estimated to contribute 3.7 lakhs (27.1%) of the total cancer burden.