Health Ministry notifies new rules for anti-tobacco warnings on OTT platforms

The Union Health Ministry has notified new rules for anti-tobacco warnings on OTT platforms. The notification makes it mandatory for OTT platforms to carry anti-tobacco warning messages.

According to the notification, if the publisher of online content fails to comply with new rules, then the ministry will take strict action. This notification mandates OTT platforms to carry anti-tobacco warning messages as we watch in theatres and TV programmes and comes on the occasion of 'World No Tobacco Day' observed on May 31st.

"If the publisher of online curated content fails to comply with the provisions of sub-rules an interministerial committee consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, shall take action suo motu or on a complaint, and after identifying the publisher of online curated content, issue notice giving reasonable opportunity to explain such failure and make appropriate modification in the content,” as per the notification.

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"Tobacco addiction has been recognised as the single largest cause of preventable death and disability worldwide. Every year millions of people die due to tobacco use,” it said.

It will also aim to expose the tobacco industry's efforts to interfere with attempts to substitute tobacco growing with sustainable crops, thereby contributing to the global food crisis.

Now, every publisher of online curated content will be displaying tobacco products and their use and shall display anti-tobacco health spots of a minimum of thirty seconds duration each at the beginning and middle of the programme.

"Every publisher of online curated content displaying tobacco products or their use shall: (a) display anti-tobacco health spots, of a minimum of thirty seconds duration each at the beginning and middle of the programme; (b) display 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 programme; (c) display an audio-visual disclaimer on the ill-effects of tobacco use, of minimum twenty seconds duration each, in the beginning, and middle of the programme; (2) The health spots, message and disclaimer shall be made available to the publisher of the online curated content on the website," the notification read.

"The anti-tobacco health warning message, health spot and audio-visual disclaimer shall be in the same language as used in the online curated content. The display of tobacco products or their use in online curated content shall not extend to - (a) display of the brands of cigarettes or other tobacco products or any form of tobacco product placement; (b) display of tobacco products or their use in promotional materials," it said further.

In 2012, after years of litigating the film industry, the government enforced a law regulating the depiction of tobacco products and their use in films and Television.

With inputs from agencies

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