No storyline is linked to tobacco

2) Product placement in films, with prominent but unnecessary display of cigarette brands, is a direct violation of the ban on advertising of tobacco products in mass media.

3) Shooting of a smoking scene in a film or television studio exposes non-smoking personnel to the hazards of passive smoking. Smoking in indoor workplaces is recommended by WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which has been ratified by India. Smoking in workplaces should be considered on par with smoking in public places which is an offence under the Indian law.

4) Creativity in films should not be linked to depiction of smoking. No storyline is linked critically to the tobacco consuming trait of a character.

5) Creativity and social commitments are far better reflected by films such as Do Bigha Zameen, Do Ankhe Bara Haath and Pather Paanchali. A talented director or actor does not need a cigarette or a beedi to depict a debonair hero, menacing villain or a liberated woman. It is certainly not creative to perpetuate such stereotypes.

6) Films reflect contemporary reality and contribute to perpetuating some social mores and in creating some new values. If they cannot contribute to betterment of social conditions, they should not at least contribute to their damage.

The offers made by film personalities to pro-actively act as celebrity role models for anti-tobacco campaigns are most welcome, even if it did take a thunderbolt from the Health Minister to evoke such promises of self regulation and socially responsible health advocacy.

Yours sincerely,

Renowned cardiologist, Prof. K. Srinath Reddy is Professor & Head, Department of Cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences; he also heads the Prime Minister’s panel of doctors and is a WHO consultant for its anti-tobacco campaign