Conclusion

Depictions of tobacco in Indian movies have increased significantly after the tobacco control legislation came into force. The product and brand visibility of tobacco product circumventing the advertising ban has also increased substantially. An erroneous relationship of tobacco with certain behaviour and emotions is being created in the movies. Such associations are scientifically incorrect and were earlier also promoted by tobacco companies in their advertisements.

It has been found that the youngsters get considerably influenced by tobacco visibility in moving images. There is also a high recall of tobacco brands visible in movies. The favourable impression created by movies showing tobacco is so high on the youngsters that nearly half of all the youngsters desired holding a cigarette in their hand. For tobacco control efforts to succeed, this high impact on young minds and erroneous association with certain emotions and behaviour patterns must be broken.

A comprehensive ban on showing smoking or any form of tobacco consumption in electronic images or any other media will prove to be an effective step in this direction.