On-demand streaming platforms side step Tobacco-free Film Rules in India

The social acceptability of tobacco perpetuates its use, and in this context, films are a powerful force in shaping public attitudes towards tobacco. Studies from several countries have shown that exposure to tobacco use in films increases the probability of adolescents initiating tobacco use ^(1-3). A study conducted in India showed that adolescents aged 12–16 years with high exposure to tobacco occurrences in films produced by Bollywood (as the Hindi film industry is popularly known) were twice as likely to have ever used tobacco compared with adolescents with low exposure ⁽⁴⁾. Consistent with the findings of these studies, a number of experimental studies conducted globally, have confirmed that smoking scenes in films shift attitudes in favour of smoking. However, an anti-smoking advertisement shown prior to the screening of films where actors are shown smoking, blunts the effect of smoking imagery ⁽⁵⁾.

To protect adolescents and young adults from exposure to tobacco imagery which may encourage them to use tobacco and related products, the Government of India had notified the Tobacco-free Film and TV Rules under the Tobacco Control Act of India (COTPA 2003) ⁽⁶⁾. This helps regulate the depiction of tobacco products in films and television programmes and is consistent with the Article 13 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and its guidelines.

In recent years, on-demand video streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hotstar are rapidly becoming popular in India. A recent market research amongst Indians in the age group of 20–25 years has revealed that the time spent on these platforms range from 5 to 20 hours per week ⁽⁷⁾.

The WHO Country Office for India conducted a study on “Tobacco imagery in on-demand streaming content popular among adolescents and young adults in India: implications for global tobacco control”, to assess the impact of tobacco imagery in digital streaming series popular amongst adolescents and young adults in urban India. This study was undertaken in collaboration with HRIDAY, the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, and Onebeyond LLC, California. The study also assessed the compliance of the content shown in these online series with the Tobacco-free Film and Television Rules in India. This is the first such study conducted in the country to generate evidence on implementation of the tobacco free films policy on streaming or over-the-top (OTT) on-demand video streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hotstar.

The study recommends the enforcement of Tobacco-free Film and TV Rules under the Tobacco Control Act of India for all content streamed on all web-based OTT platforms in India, whether produced within the country or internationally. In addition, the study also recommends that the current guidelines under Article 13 of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) pertaining to the depiction of tobacco in entertainment media should be updated to bring newer internet and mobile based platforms under its purview.

Key findings:

• Of the 188 episodes studied, 108 (57.4%) contained at least one incident of tobacco use.
• The total number of tobacco incidents in the selected series ranged from zero in Bodyguard, Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why to 1652 in The Marvellous Mrs Maisel.
• The US-produced series like The Marvellous Mrs Maisel by Amazon and Narcos and The Crown by Netflix depicted a higher number of tobacco imagery when compared to Indian produced series like Mirzapur by Amazon and Sacred Games by Netflix.
• Four out of the 10 series studied showed tobacco brands through product placements across episodes, and all of these were foreign productions. The two series — Sacred Games and Mirzapur — produced in India, showed tobacco imagery, however they did not display the brand name of the products.
• Both foreign and Indian produced series depicting any tobacco incidents, did not comply with the tobacco-free film and TV Rules in India.

Study design

As part of the study, 10 popular Web-series on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, were identified after discussions with participants aged 15–24 years in New Delhi. These were content-coded for tobacco imagery using the peer reviewed Breathe California protocol. Incidents of tobacco use and brand appearances in each series episode were counted, and compliance with extant Rules was recorded. In total, 188 episodes across 10 selected series from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video were coded for the content analysis of tobacco imagery and included: The Marvellous Mrs Maisel (rated 16+); Stranger Things (rated 16+); Bodyguard (rated 16+); Riverdale (rated 13+); Narcos (rated 16+); Sacred Games (rated 18+); Mirzapur (rated 18+); Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (rated 16+); 13 Reasons Why (rated 16+); and The Crown (rated 16+).

References:

1. Thrasher JF, Sargent JD, Huang L, et al. Does film smoking promote youth smoking in middle-income countries?: a longitudinal study among Mexican adolescents. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers Prev 2009; 18:3444–50.
2. Mejia R, Pérez A, Peña L, et al. Smoking in movies and adolescent smoking initiation: a longitudinal study among Argentinian adolescents. J Pediatr 2017; 180:222–8.
3. Dalton MA, Sargent JD, Beach ML, et al. Effect of viewing smoking in movies on adolescent smoking initiation: a cohort study. Lancet 2003; 362:281–5.
4. Arora M, Mathur N, Gupta VK, et al. Tobacco use in Bollywood movies, tobacco promotional activities and their association with tobacco use among Indian adolescents. Tob Control 2012; 21:482–7.
5. Zeena Harakeh, Rutger C M E Engels, Kathleen Vohs, et al.: Exposure to Movie Smoking, anti—smoking Ads and smoking intensity: An Experimental Study with Factorial Design.
6. Section 5 of COTPA: “No person engaged in, or purported to be engaged in the production, supply or distribution of cigarettes or any other tobacco products shall advertise and no person having control over a medium shall cause to be advertised cigarettes or any other tobacco products through that medium and no person shall take part in any advertisement which directly or indirectly suggests or promotes the use or consumption of cigarettes or any other tobacco products.”
7. Khanna V. A study on factors affecting subscription rates of Netflix in India, 18, 2017. Available here.

Related links:

• WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
• Guidelines for implementation of Article 13
• Media hub