The laws governing advertising and marketing of tobacco products and their depiction on screen were tweaked by the government, which released the second amendment to the Act on October 27.

John Abraham Smoke, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Smoke, Priyanka Chopra Smoke
John Abraham, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra & others have smoked on-screen.

According to the new rules, effectively in force from November 14,

  • All scenes of smoking or chewing tobacco in films and TV shows would have to have a scroll running through, warning viewers of the ill-effects of the use of tobacco.
  • Actors shown using tobacco have to mouth a minimum 20-second disclaimer against tobacco use sometime during the film/TV show.
  • Films and TV shows with scenes of tobacco use have to carry a disclaimer against the use of tobacco at the start.
  • Films with scenes of tobacco use would not get a ‘U’ certificate.
  • No scenes of smoking can be portrayed on posters and a health ministry official would sit on CBFC screenings to ensure that rules are not broken. The makers will also have to provide justification for such scenes.
  • The cinema owners have been mandated to blur out scenes in old movies which have scenes of smoking or tobacco chewing.

What do you think of these new regulations?

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