#TOBACCOFREEFILMS #SMOKEFREEPRODUCTION #NOMORESMOKINGINOTTPLATFORM #PROTECTCHILDRENFROMSMOKING



To

The Chairperson,
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights,
5th Floor, Chaderlok Building, 36,
Janpath Rd, New Delhi, 110001.

Subject: : To ensure smoke-free film production to protect the children in the entertainment industry :Reg.

Sir/Madam,

Tobacco, as everyone know is a serious health concern, where a lot of children falls prey on a regular basis. Here, the film industries take up a major lead in the promotion of tobacco consumption activities. In spite of displaying regular health warning and disclaimers, a lot of people get wide exposure to tobacco through films. When it comes to the OTT platforms, the significance of JJ Act is completely being ignored.

Irrespective of the age categorization, now-a-days small children are regularly being involved in the smoking scenes in films. At some instances, even if the child is not directly consuming tobacco, the second-hand smoke he/she receives in the production set is affecting their physical health and mental well-being.

Based on the draft regulatory guidelines recently released by the NCPCR on 24/06/2022 for child participation in the entertainment industry or any commercial entertainment activity, we would like to highlight the following recommendations which could be brought up in the regulation. These recommendations to an extent, can protect the children from receiving tobacco exposure in the entertainment industry.

  1. Smoke-free production: : If a child is being part of the film, no one in the entire production should consume tobacco (including pre&post production phase). The production should be completely free from tobacco consumption reducing the chances to receive second-hand smoke for the child.

  2. Tobacco-free films: There should not be any scenes included in the movie which shows the consumption of any kind of tobacco, if a child is being involved in it. This limits the tobacco initiation in the child.

  3. Providing ‘A’ certificate for films displaying tobacco consumption scenes: : If any film includes tobacco consumption scenes, those films should be given ‘A’ certification by the Censor Board. This limits the accessibility of the children to view the films.

  4. Regulation for OTT platforms: All shows streaming in the OTT platforms showing tobacco consumption should be strictly regulated. The NCPCR should come up with a concrete set of guidelines for the OTT platforms without excluding JJ Act.


Finally, the IT Guidelines of 2021 should not exclude the NCPCR guidelines.

We truly appreciate your efforts to come up with draft regulatory guidelines for child participation in the entertainment industry or any other commercial industry. We look forward towards an effective enforcement guideline incorporating the above-mentioned recommendations to build a tobacco-free generation.

Yours Sincerely,

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