RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Tobacco imagery in on-demand streaming content popular among adolescents and young adults in India: implications for global tobacco control
JF Tobacco Control
JO Tob Control
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 42
OP 48
DO 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2019-055360
VO 30
IS 1
A1 Monika Arora
A1 Gaurang P Nazar
A1 Aastha Chugh
A1 Tina Rawal
A1 Surbhi Shrivastava
A1 Praveen Sinha
A1 Vineet Gill Munish
A1 Fikru Tesfaye Tullu
A1 Kerstin Schotte
A1 Jonathan R Polansky
A1 Stanton Glantz
YR 2021
UL http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/30/1/42.abstract
AB Background India implemented tobacco-free film and TV rules (Rules) to protect adolescents and young adults from tobacco exposure.Objective To assess tobacco imagery in online series popular among adolescents and young adults.Methods Ten popular online series on streaming platforms were identified after discussions with participants (aged 15–24 years) in New Delhi, and content-coded for tobacco imagery following the Breathe California protocol. Incidents of tobacco use and brand appearances in each series episode were counted, and compliance with Indian Rules was recorded.Results 188 episodes across 10 series on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video were coded. Seven series were rated age 16+, two were 18+ and one was 13+. The median number of tobacco incidents per episode in foreign productions was as follows: Amazon’s ‘The Marvellous Mrs Maisel’ (87.5, IQR 62.0–116.0) and Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ (29.0, 18.0–36.0) were higher than Indian productions: Netflix’s ‘Sacred Games’ (9.0, 0.5–14.5) and Amazon’s ‘Mirzapur’ (7.0, 4.0–11.0) (p=0.84). Tobacco incidents per hour ranged from 0 (Bodyguard, Riverdale, 13 Reasons Why) to 106.1 (The Marvellous Mrs Maisel). Seven of 10 series had tobacco imagery and none were compliant with the Rules.Conclusion Contrary to Section 5 of India’s Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, its Rules are not being complied with by the streaming platforms. US-produced streaming media contains more tobacco incidents than Indian-produced media. There is an urgent need for better enforcement of existing Rules on streaming platforms in India, and modernisation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Article 13 guidelines to account for new streaming platforms to protect youth from tobacco imagery globally.