Surrogate ads of tobacco products in Himachal defy guidelines

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, November 20

Health experts in Tanda medical college have expressed concern over the surrogate advertisements on display in various parts of the state, promoting tobacco products.

Dr Harshvardhan Singh, Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Medicine, Tanda medical college, said the scientific evidence consistently suggested that the exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion was associated with the likelihood that adolescents would start using tobacco products.

The rampant indirect advertising by tobacco companies in the garb of brand extension in Himachal was bound to derail the efforts by the state in reducing the tobacco use, he said.

He said that the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003 and Article 13 of the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) prohibit the direct and indirect advertisement promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products in India.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways restricted the placement of large hoardings along national and state highways. Despite the rules being in place, there had been an ever-increasing display of brand extension products of tobacco companies along the major roads all over the state. The large hoardings of pan masala, flavoured elaichi, etc, endorsed by popular Bollywood celebrities, could be seen everywhere spoiling the aesthetics of the beautiful state, Dr Harshwardhan said.

The experts have written to the health authorities to tackle the menace of surrogate advertisements of tobacco products.

Sunil Raina, Director, Centre for Advancing Tobacco Control in HP at Government Medical College, said Himachal had been leading in tobacco control in the country and had the unique distinction of being declared the first ‘smoke-free state’ in 2013. The tobacco use among schoolchildren (13-15 years) in Himachal was the lowest in the country (1.1%) as per the latest Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS).

The tobacco use in adults had declined over the years and among adults it was 16.1 per cent as per Global Adult Tobacco Survey-2 as compared to the national average of 28.6per cent.

HP had set a goal to bring down the consumption of tobacco in adults to less than 10 per cent by 2025 and to less than 5 per cent by 2030, he said.

However, these surrogate advertisements might hamper the targets kept by state for tobacco control, Dr Raina said.

He said the use of tobacco constituted the single largest source of preventable deaths worldwide, accounting for over 7 million deaths on an yearly basis.

On an average, those who consume tobacco lose around 15 years of their life. India is the third largest tobacco producer and second largest consumer of tobacco worldwide, he said.