Digital
Online gaming in India is among the world’s most vibrant, says MoS I&B Dr L Murugan at Storyboard18 DES 2025
Centre proposes new and stricter anti-tobacco regulations for online content platforms
The anti-tobacco regulations will also include video-on-demand services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Centre has opened a 30-day public consultation period for individuals and organisations to submit feedback.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare made the draft announcement on September 13, 2024, seeking to amend the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Rules, 2024.
(Representative Image: Mathew MacQuarrie via Unsplash)
Centre has introduced new draft regulations to enforce stricter anti-tobacco messaging on online curated content (OCC) platforms. This includes video-on-demand services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare made the draft announcement on September 13, 2024, seeking to amend the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Rules, 2024.
Read more: Healthy India | No-tobacco warning — here's why the mandatory rule extended to OTT platforms
It has opened a 30-day public consultation period for individuals and organisations to submit feedback.
In a move to intensify its anti-tobacco campaign, the government has said that the proposed rules will require OCC platforms to include non-skippable anti-tobacco health spots, lasting a minimum of 30 seconds, at the beginning and midway through any content that features tobacco use.
It also mandated that a 20-second audio-visual disclaimer warning about the dangers of tobacco use, be shown at the start of the content. For scenes that specifically feature smoking or tobacco consumption, static anti-tobacco warnings will need to be displayed throughout.
The said rules will apply to all released from September 1, 2023.
SPOTLIGHT
As India eyes global leadership in media, entertainment and gaming, Storyboard18's Digital Entertainment Summit, set to take place on June 27 in the capital, will spotlight the bold strategies, policy pathways and creative innovations shaping the future of the industry.
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From the chiefs of Nestle, Diageo, Colgate, PepsiCo, Zetwerk and CRED to AI visionaries, marketing mavens, top creators, ad legends and leading global agencies' CEOs, the brightest minds converged at the Storyboard18 Global Pioneers Summit for an action-packed day of meaningful dialogues on creativity, commerce and culture.