New Delhi, May 31: About 41 percent of advertisements shown between the overs during the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup were surrogate ads of smokeless tobacco, according to a recent study by the ICMR National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research on World No Tobacco Day on Friday. World No Tobacco Day is observed every year on May 31 to raise awareness of preventable death and disease caused by tobacco. The theme this year is protecting children from tobacco industry interference.
The study, published in the BMJ, showed that the tobacco industry is flouting regulatory policies via surrogate advertising of smokeless tobacco products. This is of significance since India is a major producer and consumer of smokeless tobacco products with over 200 million adult users. The country also contributes to nearly 80 percent of deaths attributable to smokeless tobacco products, the study showed.
While Article 13 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCT), India's Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA) prohibits direct and indirect tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship (TAPS), the tobacco industry spends half a billion dollars annually on the promotion of smokeless tobacco products. The study showed that the industry circumvents TAPS restrictions by making indirect and direct tobacco product promotion in sports. Prof.
Monika Arora, Vice President (Research) at the Public Health Foundation of India, calls the tactic brand stretching a marke.
