The Union Health Ministry reportedly plans to request the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to stop the display of “smokeless tobacco” advertisements during cricket matches, specifically surrogate ads by gutka manufacturers endorsed by Bollywood celebrities and former cricketers, in stadiums.
It has become a common feature to see public figures promoting ‘elaichi’ mouth fresheners manufactured by smokeless tobacco product makers during high profile cricket games.
A study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Vital Strategies, a global health organization, published in the British Medical Journal in May, stated that as much as 41.3% of all surrogate ads of smokeless tobacco (SLT) brands in 2023 were displayed during the last 17 matches of the Cricket World Cup 2023.
The Mint reports that the Directorate General of Health Services, supported by the Health Ministry, will urge the BCCI to halt the broadcast of these surrogate ads promoting tobacco.
“Cricket matches widely popular among young population. There have been multiple instances wherein surrogate smokeless tobacco ads are being displayed during cricket matches and celebrity endorsement happening. This tends to indirectly attract the youths. The health ministry’s DGHS may communicate to the BCCI urging them to stop showing tobacco related ads in any form,” Mint quotes an unnamed official aware of the matter as having said.
Said official told the business daily that curbs on tobacco advertisement should be “implemented strictly”. Notably, tobacco manufacturing companies advertise gutka as ‘pan masala’ to circumvent the ban on advertising tobacco products. Surrogate advertisements use these pan masala ads to promote gutka products with similar names and packaging.
Section 5 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) and the Cable Television Network Rules, 1995 clearly prohibit the display of any direct and indirect advertising of tobacco products in film and television. Since September 1, 2023, the prohibition has also been extended to cover OTT (over-the-top) platforms and India has become the first country to do so.
