Netflix, Amazon Prime challenge India's tobacco regulations

On-demand streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which are increasingly popular among young people in India (and around the world), are flouting national regulations that prohibit the promotion of tobacco products. To protect adolescents and young adults from the promotion and promotion of tobacco products, Indian law includes provisions. Section 5 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA)[1], in accordance with Article 13 of the WHO Framework Convention specifies that "no person who engages or purports to engage in the production, supply or distribution of cigarettes or any other tobacco product shall advertise [...] cigarettes or any other tobacco product and no person shall engage in any advertising which directly or indirectly suggests or encourages the use or consumption of cigarettes or any other tobacco product.” This provision essentially implies that any form of advertising and promotion of cigarettes or any other tobacco product, irrespective of the medium, is prohibited in India and its violations are punishable by law. Subsequently, the Government of India enacted specific rules to restrict the use of tobacco images in films and television (TV) programmes from November 2011, which were further strengthened in 2012.[2]. Or an analysis of a dozen popular streaming series (Netflix, Amazon Prime) on demand, published online in the journal Tobacco Control[3], revealed the importance of tobacco and brand placement in series in India and low compliance with the law. The researchers first asked young people and students in New Delhi, aged between 15 and 24, to find out which streaming services they used the most and which series they watched. Based on this, the researchers identified the 10 most popular series, comprising 188 episodes in total. All but two series were streamed on Netflix, the rest were streamed on Amazon Prime Video. Only two were Indian productions.The 10 series analyzed are: The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (rated 16+); Stranger Things (16+); Bodyguard (16+); Riverdale (13+); Narcos (16+); Sacred Games (18+); Mirzapur (18+); Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (16+); 13 Reasons Why (16+); and The Crown (16+). The researchers then used the methodology (Breathe California[4]) to count the number of times tobacco was present in a scene in each series. The analysis showed that 70% of the series reported the presence of a tobacco product. Four of the 10 series featured tobacco brands, including Mayburn, Camel, Marlboro, Salem, and Newport. All of these series were foreign productions. Of the 188 episodes in the 10 series, more than half (57.4%) contained behavioral placements for tobacco. The total number of such placements in the 10 selected series ranged from zero (in Bodyguard, Riverdale, and 13 Reasons Why) to 1,652 (in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel). For other series, the researchers counted 833 uses of tobacco in "Narcos," 599 in "The Crown," 233 in "Stranger Things," 171 in "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," 78 in "Mirzapur" and 67 in "Sacred Games." Given the provisions in force in India on cigarettes and other tobacco products, the established rules are not respected by streaming platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime.©Tobacco Free Generation

---

[1] Government of India. The cigarettes and other tobacco products (prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade and commerce, production, supply and distribution) act, (2003) and related rules & regulations, 2003. Available: https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/files/live/India/India - COTPA.pdf[2] https://www.who.int/fctc/implementation/news/india__news/en/[3] Arora M, Nazar GP, Chugh A, et al Tobacco imagery in on-demand streaming content popular among adolescents and young adults in India: implications for global tobacco control Tobacco Control Published Online First: 09 April 2020. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2019 -055360[4] Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails Thumbs up! Thumbs down! program manual. A guide to reviewing tobacco use in movies as an awareness activity for young people; 2014. Google Scholar ©National Committee Against Smoking |