Thiruvananthapuram, May 9 (IANS) Anti-smoking
activists in Kerala are up in arms over the decision of the union
information and broadcasting ministry, to keep in abeyance the rules
issued by the health ministry on tobacco-free movies and television
shows.
As brought out from RTI applications filed by civil
society groups, the I&B ministry has asked the Central Board of Film
Certification (CBFC) to "maintain status quo and adhere to the
certification process as was being done before the issue of the
(October) notification."
It has also asked the health ministry to
keep the notification in "abeyance till the time the practical
difficulties faced by the film industry are resolved amicably".
Justice
K. Narayana Kurup, a former judge of the Kerala High Court who
deliverred the pioneering ruling banning smoking in public places back
in 1999, described the I&B ministry's stance as "undoubtedly a rude
shock" and a "retrograde step neutralising the gains already achieved in
the field of anti-tobacco drives and luring hundreds of thousands of
youth to the mesmerizing hold of tobacco".
"If smoking scenes go
without warning scrolls, it will end up in picturising a world that
informs people, especially the youth, about the acceptance and
prevalence of tobacco use in society, emasculating and neutralising the
beneficial effect produced by the COTP (Control of Tobacco Products)
legislation," said Kurup.
The Health and I&B Ministries have
been on a dissenting mode ever since the former issued a gazette
notification in October last on the depiction of tobacco products or
tobacco use in movies and television.
Among others, the
notification called for a mandatory display of health warning scroll
during the duration of the scene, and a health message of 30 seconds,
each in the beginning and middle of films and television programmes.
Roscotte
Krishna Pillai, former director of Press Information Bureau and former
member, Advisory Panels for Film Certification and CBFC said that the
I&B Ministry had issued clear guidelines to the CBFC.
"It now
comes as a shock that the resultant good effect that this decision has
had on the society at large and the succour it brought to millions of
smokers and non-smokers alike has been nullified by the recent decision
of the I&B Ministry to do away with tobacco-free movies and
television rules," said Pillai.
Studies and surveys conducted to
understand the influence of movies and television on tobacco use have
pointed out the positive correlation between the two.
"Fans,
especially youngsters, blindly emulate screen action and it is important
that filmmakers exercise greater restraint considering that tobacco use
is the single largest cause of cancers in the country," said
Dr.K.Ramdas, medical superintendent, Regional Cancer Centre.
Concerned
by the influence that onscreen smoking has on film-goers, the
High-level Committee formed for tobacco control in Kerala, headed by the
Principal Secretary (Health) Rajeev Sadanandan, has decided to take up
the matter of depiction of smoking screens with the Malayalam film
industry.