The central government has amended the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Rules 2024. A new sub-rule has been added to its rule 11, after which some changes have been made. Along with the films shown in theaters, now some changes have been asked to be made on OTT content as well.
Now a minimum of 30 seconds of anti-tobacco health video will have to be shown in the beginning and middle of the film. Wherever tobacco production or anything related to it is shown in the entire film, anti-tobacco health text will have to be played on the bottom screen.
It has also been said that apart from a 30-second anti-tobacco health video, a 20-second visual disclaimer about the ill effects of tobacco must be shown at the beginning of the film. Instructions have also been given to OTT apps regarding this matter.
In fact, it has been instructed that on opening the online curated content, an anti-tobacco health spot of at least 30 seconds must be shown. And it should be non-skippable. That is, one cannot proceed further in the content without watching it. Along with this, it has been made mandatory for OTT to show a 20-second audio-visual disclaimer. And this ad cannot be skipped either.
These changes will be applicable to all content uploaded from September 1, 2023
From 1 September 2023, all content uploaded on all online platforms, whether it is Indian or foreign, will have to display anti-tobacco health warning text on the bottom screen if tobacco products are used or shown in them. All online curated content platforms have been given 6 months to make these changes in their apps. After that this rule will be applicable for OTT.
