Introduction

 

Tobacco is one of the major causes of deaths and disease in India, accounting for over eight lakh deaths every year.[i] Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. It is currently responsible for the death of one in ten adults’ worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year). If current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020. Half the people who smoke today, that is, about 650 million people- will eventually be killed by tobacco. Tobacco is the fourth most common risk factor for disease worldwide. The economic costs of tobacco use are equally devastating. In addition to the high public health costs of treating tobacco-caused diseases, tobacco kills people at the height of their productivity, depriving families of breadwinners and nations of a healthy workforce.[ii]

A question arises that if tobacco is so deadly, why people consume tobacco? Is it natural for people to consume tobacco or is someone pushing the deadly tobacco? Over a period of time and after a lot of research, it has been found that tobacco advertisements, sponsorships and promotions are major influences for a person to initiate tobacco consumption. 168 countries (ratified by 113 till date) of the world[iii] who signed the “Frame Work Convention on Tobacco Control,” an international treaty of global dimension, expressed their concern about the advertising, promotion and sponsorship in no unclear term in the preamble itself; it read “Parties to this convention (are) seriously concerned about the impact of all forms of advertising, promotion and sponsorship aimed at encouraging the use of tobacco products.”[iv]

From the same concern the Indian government banned all forms of direct and indirect forms of advertising, promotion and sponsorship through a legislation called “Cigarette and other tobacco products Act 2003.” Despite that many surrogate forms of advertisement continues till date. The FCTC also warns about such nefarious designs in its preamble itself and recognizes the “need to be alert to any efforts by the tobacco industry to undermine or subvert tobacco control efforts” and “the activities of the tobacco industry that have a negative impact on tobacco control efforts.”[v] 

It was found by Burning Brain Society and many other organizations that tobacco companies are endorsing film stars and producers to place their tobacco products in movies which amount to advertising, promotion and sponsorship[vi]. This brought a realization that if “Motion pictures” which are one of the most important mass media tool continue to be used by tobacco companies to promote tobacco and be allowed to spread the myths about tobacco or present tobacco as a lifestyle and fashion statement, all other efforts to contain tobacco may also fail. A need to assess the actual ground level reality was felt so that the impact created on youngsters resulting from tobacco in movies is understood in a better way. Assessing movies also present the actual scenario about whether tobacco is being associated with emotions like stress, bravery, machismo, fashion, lifestyle, etc; and whether there is any product placement after the enactment of the anti-tobacco legislation. 

There can be no doubt that movies, television and mass media have shrunk the world akin a global village. The pervasiveness of the moving images is so high that it now reaches even the remotest of the village. The DTH Satellite has further increased the reach of cable television to the remotest corner. Television and movies have become one of the most relied and popular medium of entertainment and education. In both, rural and urban India the moving images are seen through movie theatres, cable, satellite, video disks, etc. Moving images have become the window to the world. For the near 450 million illiterate population of India, who can hardly recognise words, moving electronic images are the only source of learning and entertainment. 

Under such a scenario the impact created by the movies and other multimedia program on public mind is massive and indelible in many respects. Many fashions, wearable, style shown in a movie becomes popular overnight in both villages and cities alike now[vii]. Youngsters can be seen wearing the haircut of popular actors, wearing clothes like them, carrying bags and badges in emulation of popular character of a hit movie within a matter of days of its release. The superstars are worshiped like demigods and there are many cases where even temples have come into existence in their name[viii]. This is the power of moving images in India like most other places in the world. 

The movies have an undeniable power to leave an indelible impression on the minds of the people which increase manifolds when the raw illiterate or semiliterate populace (especially youngsters) are the recipient of the message delivered through moving images. The national broadcaster of India, the Doordarshan, even tries to use this power of the electronic mass media communication in a positive way to spread information for public good. 

Products, brands, trade names etc. of many commercial products including those of tobacco are regularly shown and broadcasted over the mass media in many covert and overt forms. The brand/product placement in the movies is mostly paid for and inserted with the objective to increase the product’s sale. Movies often show various tobacco brands, trade names and products besides smoking scenes and tobacco use in movies.  

Like all electronic images it is pointed out by many scientific studies that the images depicting smoking and tobacco use promotes the harmful and deleterious habit of smoking among youngsters, who happen to be the most vulnerable segment of the society[ix]. The role of movies in promoting tobacco has been clearly established in many studies[x]. Based on the same premise; this study tries to get a snapshot view of the relation and influence of tobacco on people’s mind especially youngsters. This study is imperative in the view that it is being done after the ratification by India of the “Frame Work Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)” and the increased commitment of India to contain the growth of tobacco, and prohibit all direct and indirect advertisement as well as promotion of tobacco in any form. 

This study also finds out instances of showing smoking/tobacco in movies after the enactment of “The Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003” which banned all forms of direct and indirect advertisements of tobacco products. It is noteworthy that in 1998, tobacco companies entered into the “Master Settlement Agreement”[xi] with the Attorneys General of 46 states and agreed not to do product/brand placement in movies. The Hollywood producers also expressed their unanimity on the issue. In 2003 many actors, producers and directors talked about self-regulation and said to desist from glamorising any smoking scenes in movies. Many directors and producers had pledged support ^[xii].  

This study will find out the effect of the claimed self-regulation and the commitment of the film industry towards tobacco-free movies by actually finding if any (and the number of, if applicable).