The ministry notified the amended rules under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2022, on May 31 which is also the World No-Tobacco Day.
As per the notification, it is mandatory for OTT platforms to show anti-tobacco health spots each of a minimum of 30 seconds at the beginning and middle of the program.
An anti-tobacco health warning should also be displayed as a prominent static message at the bottom of the screen when tobacco products or their use are displayed during the programme.
Apart from this, an audio-visual disclaimer of a minimum duration of 20 seconds must also be displayed at the beginning and middle of the programme.
The warnings 'Tobacco causes cancer' or 'Tobacco kills' in a black font a white background must be used, the notification stated.
The new guidelines also prohibit the makers from displaying the brands of cigarettes or other tobacco products.
If the publisher of online curated content fails to comply with the regulations, strict action would be taken against them, after "giving reasonable opportunity to explain such failure," the notification added.
The notification defines the ‘publisher of online content’ as an entity which plays a significant role in making the online curated content available to the audience.
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