Smoking scenes banned on Indian movies and TV channels
Pallab Bhattacharya, New Delhi
In a major drive against tobacco products, Indian government has banned smoking scenes from movies and television channels from August this year. The Indian Health Ministry has issued directives banning all smoking scenes and chewing of tobacco products in films as well as on television. "Government has notified additional rules that ban screening of tobacco products by characters in movies or television. The notification comes into effect from August 1, 2005," said Joint Secretary in Health Ministry Bhawani Tyagarajan on the occasion of World No-Tobacco Day" yesterday. The government has also banned showing of cigarette packets, hoardings or even using any item with a cigarette brand name on it in movies. Films which have already been and contain shots of people smoking will require to run a scroll at the bottom of the screen warning against hazards of smoking. The law also applies to foreign films and old films being released again or shown on television. Distributors and TV channels will have to blur the screen each time an actor or actress lights up a cigarette or a cigarette brand is shown.
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