Plea to I&B on smoking, tobacco warning: Prevent authority duplication

The OCCPs' letter argues that the I&B Ministry drafted the IT rules of 2021 only after a detailed study of global best practices, making them well-founded

On the contentious issue of the depiction of smoking and tobacco use, online curated content providers (OCCP) have urged the Information & Broadcasting Ministry to prevent a duplication of authority between itself and the Health Ministry which will arise if the latter’s separate set of rules is accepted.

The providers say they already comply with the code of ethics under the 2021 IT Rules administered by the I&B Ministry on how smoking and tobacco use can be depicted.   

The 57 OCCPs registered with the government have raised concerns over the proposed health ministry notification for the creation of a ‘separate mechanism