Government Targets Surrogate Tobacco Ads in Cricket: BCCI Asked to Take Immediate Action

The BCCI and the Sports Authority of India have been requested by the Union Health Ministry to take action against athletes who promote alcohol and tobacco products in lieu of real people, citing their role as role models for millions of young people in the nation and around the world. Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Atul Goel wrote a letter on Thursday to President Roger Binny of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and DG of SAI Sandip Pradhan, stating that athletes, particularly cricket players, serve as role models for youth by encouraging an active, healthy, and productive lifestyle.

“The BCCI is entrusted with objectives of laying down policies, roadmap, guidelines for promotion of the game of cricket (and its governance) keeping in mind the players and cricket fans of India…and it is disheartening to see surrogate advertisements of tobacco and/or alcohol related products by some of the well-known cricketers and also famous actors during cricketing events such as IPL,” Goel said.

“Taking a considerate view of the issue, the BCCI may take positive measures to prevent these surrogate advertisement of tobacco and/ or alcohol related products by sportspersons,” he stated.

The DGHS recommended actions like signing a “Declaration of Interest” form opposing tobacco use, refraining from promoting or advertising in stadiums or events that the BCCI hosts or partners with, and sending out directives to athletes falling under the BCCI’s purview to abstain from surrogate promoting, partnering with, or advertising tobacco and related products.

“Also, it is hereby requested not to allow such surrogate advertisements by other celebrities in sporting events of BCCI, such as the IPL. I hope you will appreciate that celebrities engaging in these surrogate advertisements are followed as role models by millions of youth not only within the country but across the world,” Goel said.

According to him, such actions would not only contribute in the decrease of tobacco use, particularly among young people, but they will also support the idealized perception of athletes as role models for health and fitness and uphold the highest standards of honesty and accountability in the sports industry.

According to the DGHS, the only risk factor shared by the four primary categories of non-communicable diseases—diabetes, cancer, chronic lung disease, and cardiovascular disease—is tobacco smoking.

With an estimated 13.5 lakh preventable deaths recorded each year, India has the second-highest number of tobacco-related deaths worldwide. Moreover, tobacco use accounts for 17% of cancer cases in women and nearly 50% of cases in males in India, or 33% of all cancer cases.

According to numerous polls, tobacco use in India can begin as early as age seven, according to Goel’s letter.

The National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), established by the Indian government in 2007–2008, aims to reduce the production and supply of tobacco products, raise public awareness of the negative effects of tobacco use, and ensure that the provisions of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarette Act (PECA) of 2019 and the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) of 2003 are implemented effectively.

It also seeks to assist individuals in quitting smoking and to make it easier to put the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s recommended tobacco preventive and control measures into practice.

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