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Govt's anti-tobacco fiat goes up in smoke-Kounteya Sinha

Now, Bollywood movies won't have to run a scroll with anti-tobacco messages each time a smoking scene is shown.

India has for the time-being shelved a notification that had come into effect on November 14, 2011. The notification had made it mandatory for all new movies that had scenes pertaining to smoking or tobacco use, to provide health warnings at the bottom of the screen all through the duration of the scenes.

An RTI has revealed that that the Information and broadcasting ministry has asked the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to "maintain status quo and adhere to the certification process as was being done before the issue of latest notification."

It also asked the Union health ministry 'to keep the notification in abeyance till the time the practical difficulties faced by the film industry are resolved amicably."

India is the world's largest producer of movies: more than 1,000 films are made in several languages annually. A study conducted by World Health Organization (WHO) and the health ministry had revealed that 76% of Indian movies had tobacco use shown in them and 52.2% of children in India, who had their first smoke, were influenced by tobacco use depicted in movies.

"We are deeply disappointed to learn that the I&B ministry has issued directives to CBFC to defer the implementation of the rules on the grounds of practical difficulties, overlooking the public health benefits. This stand is unfortunate, especially when there can be no difficulty in implementing these rules," said Bhavna Mukhopadhyay from the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI).

Bollywood's worldwide viewership is estimated to be about 3 million. VHAI says Bollywood movie stars in India have large fan followings and exercise tremendous influence on the behavioural attitudes of adolescents.

One of the major influences on the rise of teen tobacco use is the glamorization of smoking in both films and on television. Backed by evidence that smoking in movies causes youth to want to light up, WHO asked countries to enact enforceable policies that would severely restrict such depictions. WHO had recommended that all movies with scenes of smoking should be given an adult rating, with the possible exception of movies that reflect the dangers of tobacco use or that depict smoking by a historical figure who smoked.

Studies show that smoking continues to permeate movies, including those rated as suitable for youth. "Voluntary agreements to limit smoking in movies have not and cannot work," WHO had said. It had added, "Logic and science now support enforceable policies to severely restrict smoking imagery in all film media."

"The WHO recommendations are evidence-based and very much needed," said Dr Ala Alwan, Assistant Director-General of WHO. "Tobacco kills more than five million people per year. Each day approximately 100,000 young people take up smoking. Restricting smoking in movies will go a long way towards stemming the tobacco epidemic," said Dr Alwan.

Studies show that smoking in movies misleads youth into thinking that tobacco use is normal, acceptable, socially beneficial and more common that it really is. Studies also show that such movies rarely portray the harm of tobacco, instead portraying the product as conducive of a cool and glamorous lifestyle.

Dr Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative, had said, "The more smoking adolescents see on screen, the more likely they are to start smoking. These simple policies can save generations of young people from a lifetime of addiction and an early death from tobacco."

The WHO report also recommends that movie studios should certify that they received no payoffs from tobacco companies to display tobacco products or their use, stop displaying tobacco brands onscreen and require strong anti-tobacco advertisements before all movies that have tobacco imagery.