Unlike many celebrities who are busy earning quick bucks by surrogate tobacco advertising at the cost of health of the youth getting addicted to the lethal products, international wrestler Sangram Singh has chosen to use his influence for a positive cause by joining forces with health experts like Alok Thakar, Head, National Cancer Institute and Professor of Otolaryngology & Head-Neck Surgery, AIIMS Delhi, and Urvashi Prasad, Director of NITI Aayog to advocate against the tobacco menace.
On the occasion of National Youth Day, the youth icon Sangarm Singh who is also the brand ambassador for the Government's 'Fit India' campaign, said, “This young population is particularly vulnerable to the hazards of tobacco; implementing tobacco warnings is crucial.” He was sharing his concerns at the webinar ‘Viksit Bharat-Tambaku Mukt Bharat’ organized by Tobacco Free India, a citizen’s initiative recently.
Along with other participants he too underscored the importance of implementing tobacco warning rules on Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms, akin to the regulations previously enforced for film and television. The experts also called for prohibiting surrogate advertisements, point-of-sale tobacco ads, and smoking zones.
Alok Thakar brought attention to “the alarming surge in cancer cases associated with tobacco consumption”. He said, “In the past year, there has been a proliferation of surrogate advertisements, particularly for smokeless tobacco products.”
Epidemiologist and public health expert Chandrakant Lahariya cited findings from the GYTS-India Survey conducted by the Government and said, “Approximately one-fifth of individuals aged 13-15 had used some form of tobacco product, and this proportion was even higher among older age groups.”
He emphasised that on-screen tobacco warnings not only have a direct impact on youth but also result in a reduction of tobacco-related scenes in the media. He also cited the Health Ministry’s report on India’s tobacco-free film and television policy, illustrating the positive outcomes of implementing tobacco warnings.
Lahariya also stressed that even a 10 per cent reduction in tobacco use among these individuals through warning rules could potentially save up to 20 million lives in the long run.
Urvashi Prasad emphasised the profound damage tobacco inflicts on well-being, with a definite link to diseases like cancer while Uma Kumar, Founder Head of Rheumatology at AIIMS, New Delhi, noted that the median age for initiating tobacco product use is between 10 and 11.5 years, putting young individuals at risk of life-threatening diseases like cancer.
She called upon public figures to responsibly wield their influence and cited the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, revealing that 52 percent of school-going children aged 13-15 had observed anti-tobacco messages in films and TV.
The Government had extended COTPA rules to OTT platforms, effective September 1, 2023. These rules mandate that all OTT platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hotstar, Jio Cinema, etc., display anti-tobacco health spots, prominent static messages, and audio-visual disclaimers regarding the ill effects of tobacco.
