Regulate tobacco advertisement on OTT platforms : BJD MP

Sujeet Kumar raised the issue of “unregulated and unrestrained” advertisement of tobacco and cigarette products on OTT platforms in Rajya Sabha

The union government should regulate and restrain the use of tobacco and cigarette advertisements on OTT platforms, a member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The MP said tobacco and cigarettes are a prominent risk factor of major diseases in the country. (Representative image (Unsplash))

Sujeet Kumar raised the issue of “unregulated and unrestrained” advertisement of tobacco and cigarette products on OTT platforms in Rajya Sabha and said in the absence of regulation to control advertisements on the platforms, these “have become a haven for advertisement of cigarettes and tobacco products.”

Urging the union government to leverage the use of COTPA Act (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act), the MP said, “We all know that the OTT platform bypasses cable broadcast and satellite channels. They are able to advertise tobacco and cigarette products without any restraint. I don’t need to tell this august House the harmful effects of cigarettes.”

Speaking during Zero Hour, the MP said tobacco and cigarettes are a prominent risk factor of major diseases in the country. “Forty % of the non-communicable diseases are directly attributable to cigarette and tobacco products. A study done by an organisation called Global Youth Tobacco Survey has highlighted that 14 lakh Indians, on an average, die every year due to consumption of these products. The prevalence of tobacco use among boys is 9.6 % and girls is 7.4 %. These are boys and girls between 13 and 18 years of age. We all know that young boys and girls, when they see a movie star smoking or indulging in any tobacco use on TV or on films, get motivated to use those products,” he said.

The MP referred to a study conducted by (MICA) Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad.

“There is another study conducted by (MICA) Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad which tells us that young people between 15-34 age groups spend on an average 70 minutes a day viewing OTT platforms. Now it is basic common sense that the rules which apply to TV and movies should also apply to OTT platforms. When we have stringent regulations guiding the advertisements of tobacco and cigarette products in movies and televisions, why is the same standard not applicable to OTT platforms?” he said.