BMJ 2013;347:f6364 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f6364 (Published 21 October 2013)
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NEWS Indian advocacy group urges Woody Allen to accept display of antismoking messages across latest film Dinsa Sachan New Delhi
A New Delhi advocacy group that provides health information to young people has written to the Hollywood director Woody Allen, urging him to release his latest movie, Blue Jasmine, in India. Allen recently pulled the film from the country’s cinemas because India’s stringent antitobacco laws require a static antismoking warning to appear on screen whenever a character lights up.1
The non-profit group, Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), justified the Indian film regulations in its letter. It said, “With 35% of Indian adults and 15% of Indian youth consuming tobacco in any form, public health measures need to be prioritized over any entertainment or trade issues.” India has 275 million users of tobacco. Findings from the 2013 Tobacco Control Policy India (TCP India) survey show that by 2020 some 1.5 million people will die each year in the country as a result of tobacco use.2
India’s Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules 2012, which came into effect in September last year, state that cinemas must run a health warning at the bottom of the screen every time a character uses a tobacco product. The rules also require cinemas to run antitobacco advertisements at the beginning of the film and halfway through. Failure to comply can result in the cancellation of a cinema’s licence.
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HRIDAY argued that several Hollywood films released in the past year, including Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, were shown in compliance with the law and fared well at the box office. Monika Arora, HRIDAY’s senior director, said, “There is scientific evidence to indicate that smoking scenes in movies encourage youth to start smoking.” A 2011 study led by Arora and published in Tobacco Control found that adolescents who had high levels of exposure to smoking in films were twice as likely to try a tobacco product in their lifetime as teenagers who had little exposure.3 K K Aggarwal, a doctor and antismoking campaigner in Delhi, said that warning messages were important and acted as a deterrent. “Repeated warnings force smokers to reflect on their habit and consider its health implications,” he said. 1 2 3
Shah Singh H. Woody Allen pulls “Blue Jasmine” in India over anti-smoking ads. 9 CNN. Oct 2013. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/09/world/asia/india-woody-allen-smoking/index. html. ITC Project. TCP India national report: findings from the wave 1 survey (2010-2011). 2013. www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/TCP%20India.pdf. Arora M, Mathur N, Gupta VK, Nazar GP, Reddy KS, Sargent JD. Tobacco use in Bollywood movies, tobacco promotional activities and their association with tobacco use among Indian adolescents. Tob Control 2012;21:482-7.
Cite this as: BMJ 2013;347:f6364 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2013
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Page 1 of 1
News
NEWS Indian advocacy group urges Woody Allen to accept display of antismoking messages across latest film Dinsa Sachan New Delhi
A New Delhi advocacy group that provides health information to young people has written to the Hollywood director Woody Allen, urging him to release his latest movie, Blue Jasmine, in India. Allen recently pulled the film from the country’s cinemas because India’s stringent antitobacco laws require a static antismoking warning to appear on screen whenever a character lights up.1
The non-profit group, Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), justified the Indian film regulations in its letter. It said, “With 35% of Indian adults and 15% of Indian youth consuming tobacco in any form, public health measures need to be prioritized over any entertainment or trade issues.” India has 275 million users of tobacco. Findings from the 2013 Tobacco Control Policy India (TCP India) survey show that by 2020 some 1.5 million people will die each year in the country as a result of tobacco use.2
India’s Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules 2012, which came into effect in September last year, state that cinemas must run a health warning at the bottom of the screen every time a character uses a tobacco product. The rules also require cinemas to run antitobacco advertisements at the beginning of the film and halfway through. Failure to comply can result in the cancellation of a cinema’s licence.
For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
HRIDAY argued that several Hollywood films released in the past year, including Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, were shown in compliance with the law and fared well at the box office. Monika Arora, HRIDAY’s senior director, said, “There is scientific evidence to indicate that smoking scenes in movies encourage youth to start smoking.” A 2011 study led by Arora and published in Tobacco Control found that adolescents who had high levels of exposure to smoking in films were twice as likely to try a tobacco product in their lifetime as teenagers who had little exposure.3 K K Aggarwal, a doctor and antismoking campaigner in Delhi, said that warning messages were important and acted as a deterrent. “Repeated warnings force smokers to reflect on their habit and consider its health implications,” he said. 1 2 3
Shah Singh H. Woody Allen pulls “Blue Jasmine” in India over anti-smoking ads. 9 CNN. Oct 2013. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/09/world/asia/india-woody-allen-smoking/index. html. ITC Project. TCP India national report: findings from the wave 1 survey (2010-2011). 2013. www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/TCP%20India.pdf. Arora M, Mathur N, Gupta VK, Nazar GP, Reddy KS, Sargent JD. Tobacco use in Bollywood movies, tobacco promotional activities and their association with tobacco use among Indian adolescents. Tob Control 2012;21:482-7.
Cite this as: BMJ 2013;347:f6364 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2013
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
