Anurag Kumar
Hansal Mehta has spoken out against the new mandate that requires OTT platforms to include a warning about smoking and tobacco products. He referred to it sarcastically as a “progressive decision.”
What Hansal said
Hansal Mehta tweeted on Wednesday, “Yes. Our media is the only reason why tobacco products and smoking are lethal. By placing these tickers, we will have wholesome, non-smoking individuals. Very progressive decision.”
Hansal responded to a specific line in the report regarding the inclusion of a smoking disclaimer on over-the-top (OTT) platforms: “This decision was made to protect people’s health and raise awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco.”
Yes. The only reason tobacco products and smoking kill is our shows/films. By putting these tickers we will have healthy people who don’t smoke. Very progressive decision.
“This decision was made to protect people’s health and raise awareness about the harmful effects of… https://t.co/zFOv0Sq73n
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) July 26, 2023
Reactions to Hansal’s remark
Hansal’s remark polarised the Internet. In the remark section of his tweet, a Twitter user wrote, “It’s so simple to ban films. Why isn’t tobacco banned? Hypocrites.” However, another user refuted Hansal’s statement and wrote, “If this decision prevents 100, 10 or even 1 person from smoking or becoming addicted to tobacco, I think it’s a good decision!”
Another user attempted to negotiate with Hansal. They wrote, “Sir, it is true that films have the ability to influence the credulous. With today’s distribution and accessibility, it is more important than ever to have controls; self-regulation should take precedence. I fear for the future of my children’s innocence due to the content available on OTT services.”
Why the smoking disclaimers on OTT platforms?
According to the news agency PTI, the government has mandated that OTT platforms display a conspicuous static anti-tobacco health warning at the bottom of the screen whenever a tobacco product is displayed or used in a programme, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
According to the amended regulations, every publisher of online curated content exhibiting tobacco products or their use must run anti-tobacco health spots for a minimum of 30 seconds at the beginning and the middle of the programme.
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They must display an anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent static message at the bottom of the screen during the display of tobacco products or their use in the programme, as well as an audiovisual disclaimer on the harmful effects of tobacco for at least 20 seconds at the beginning and middle of the programme.
