Health ministry plans mandatory 'non-skippable' anti-tobacco spots on OTT

The Union health ministry has proposed mandatory display of "non-skippable" anti-tobacco health spots of at least 30 seconds and audio-visual disclaimer on ill-effects of tobacco use for 20 seconds on OTT platforms as soon as one starts streaming them.

The ministry recently released draft amendments for anti-tobacco rules for over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

According to the draft norms, all films of Indian and foreign origin irrespective of their CBFC certification status published and released on or after September 1, 2023 will have to display anti-tobacco health spots of minimum 30 seconds duration each at the beginning and middle of the movie.

It also proposed displaying anti-tobacco health warnings as prominent static messages at the bottom of the screen during the scenes that show use of tobacco products in all content.

"The Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rule