OTT platforms are in gross violation of tobacco disclaimer guidelines, say health experts

As over-the-top (OTT) platforms attain more popularity with cinema theatres remaining shut due to Covid-19 pandemic, public health experts have raised an alarm over the absence of audio-visual disclaimers for tobacco imagery used in films, web series, and other content aired online.

Urging the central government to act against tobacco advertising and glamorisation of tobacco use, experts have written to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology citing results of a recent study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Dr Muralidhar M Kulkarni, Associate Professor at Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, said that such imagery amounts to violations of section 5 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003.