New Delhi: The government Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it would shortly issue a notification to permit smoking scenes in films with a scroll carrying statutory warning that smoking is injurious to health.
The apex court bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi was told that the new notification would mandate that the films showing smoking scene run a scroll that smoking was injurious right at the start of the film, soon after the interval and during the course of the scene showing smoking.
Senior counsel V. Shekhar, appearing for the government, told the court that the notification superseding all earlier notifications prohibiting smoking scenes would be issued Sep 14.
While adjourning the hearing of the matter, the apex court declined to entertain a plea by a counsel seeking exemption for the release of the film, "Heroine", which has scenes of women puffing cigarettes.
The notification will pave the way for amending rules that currently restrain filmmakers from showing smoking scenes.
In October, 2009 the government of India issued a notification, ordering all films, as well as TV programmes, to have health warnings at the beginning and in the middle of the film/show.
The new guidelines, under the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Rules, 2004, say that every new and old film (Indian and foreign), as well as TV programmes (new and old), must have the actors mouthing health warnings at the beginning of the film, and in the middle, among many other restrictions. But, the industry isn't convinced that the measures will be effective in discouraging the youth from taking up smoking. Instead, says director Mahesh Bhatt, "it'll only lead to an unnecessary break in the filmmaker's tale."
In 2003, the government enacted the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Regulation Act ( COTPA), which included a ban on tobacco promotion and advertising of tobacco products. In 2004, tobacco ads were also barred in other media. In 2005, the rules were further refined to combat smoking in films, since it was felt that surrogate advertising through films had gone up since the 2003 ban. It included measures that've been pushed now - no character to be shown smoking, older movies to have health warnings, etc.
At the time, even the I&B Ministry had argued that flexibility was needed, and where there was a creative requirement to show smoking, the movie could be given an A certificate. So, the rules were relaxed to say that certification should reflect the presence of a smoking scene. Plus, there should be a message from the actor about the harmful effects of tobacco, and a health scroll before and after the scene. In 2005, Mahesh Bhatt filed a petition challenging the last notified Act banning smoking in films. On the basis of that petition, the Delhi HC in 2009 struck down the ban on smoking in films.
However, the government, maintaining that the Constitution allows reasonable restrictions to promote public health, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in 2009. The SC suspended the HC's order. After that, till the new notifications were announced on October 27 this year (effective November 14), the government had been trying to amend the rules to make them 'more practical to implement'.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued a notification dated October 27 with certain amendments to showing the actual act of smoking on screen
A U/A certification for a film in which an actor/actors are shown smoking or using tobacco
A disclaimer of 20 seconds duration in the beginning and middle of the film in the voice of the actor shown smoking or chewing tobacco
There has to be a health warning scroll in legible and readable font going across the scene as a ticker saying smoking causes cancer; smoking kills, tobacco causes cancer.
Certification after the effective date of this notification shall be categorized as New Films.
