Displaying anti-tobacco warning mandatory for OTT platforms, Centre notifies rules

The rules notified by government will come into effect within three months.

The union government on May 31 notified new rules mandating OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, SonyLiv, and others to carry anti-tobacco warning messages in the online curated audio-visual content.

The rules are called the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules, 2023.

“They shall come into force on and after the expiration of three months from the date of their publication in the official gazette,” the published  gazette notification by Health Ministry said.

The notification has been issued on the World No Tobacco Day.

The content shown in theatres and television channels already display an anti-tobacco health spot, of minimum thirty seconds duration each at the beginning and middle of the films and television programme.

In the absence of similar rules for digital platforms, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had started deliberations with stakeholders for them to display anti-tobacco warnings.

30-second duration

According to the newly notified rule, every publisher of online curated content displaying tobacco products or their use shall display anti-tobacco health spots for a minimum of thirty seconds each at the beginning and middle of the programme.

The OTT platforms will also have to display anti-tobacco health warnings 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.

The display of 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 will be mandatory for the OTT platforms, as per the notification.

As per the gazette notification, the health spots, message, and disclaimer shall be made available to the publishers of the online curated content from the health ministry’s official website.