Health Ministry notifies, OTT shows must carry anti-tobacco warnings
Health Ministry notifies, OTT shows must carry anti-tobacco warnings
Share:

The Centre notifies rules requiring anti-tobacco warnings to be displayed on OTT services.On May 31, the union government announced new regulations requiring OTT services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, SonyLiv, and others to include anti-tobacco warnings in their online-curated audio-visual content.

Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules, 2023 are the official name of the regulations.

Read More Effects of Tobacco on Your Health and How to Break Free

According to the Health Ministry's published gazette notification, "They shall come into force on and after the lapse of three months from the date of their publication in the official gazette."  The announcement was made on World No Tobacco Day.

An anti-tobacco health advertisement of at least thirty seconds each is already shown at the beginning and middle of films and television shows that are shown in theatres and on television channels.

Read More Combatting the Smoke: Uniting Against Tobacco on Anti-Tobacco Day

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has begun discussions with stakeholders for them to post anti-tobacco warnings because there were no comparable regulations for digital platforms.

The recently announced regulation mandates that anti-tobacco health commercials be shown for a minimum of thirty seconds at the start and middle of every programming that features tobacco products or their use online.
While the tobacco goods are being displayed or used in the programme, the OTT platforms must also prominently display anti-tobacco health warnings as a static message at the bottom of the screen.

According to the notification, OTT platforms must present an audio-visual disclaimer about the harmful effects of tobacco smoking for at least twenty seconds at the start and in the middle of the programming.

According to the gazette notification, the publishers of the online curated material must make the health spots, message, and disclaimer available to them through the health ministry's official website.

Read More Tamil Nadu: Ban on Gutkha, Pan Masala extended for one year

 

Join NewsTrack Whatsapp group
Related News