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The Health Ministry has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Sports Authority of India to take steps to prevent tobacco and alcohol advertising on behalf of athletes, saying athletes are role models for millions of young people in India and around the world. In a letter to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Roger Binny and BCCI director general Sandeep Pradhan on Thursday, Director General of Health Services Dr Atul Goel said athletes, especially cricketers, are role models for young people to promote a healthy, active and productive lifestyle.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India is tasked with formulating policies, roadmaps and guidelines to promote the game of cricket (and its management) keeping in mind the needs of Indian players and cricket fans… It is disheartening to see alternative advertisements of tobacco and/or alcohol-related products being aired by some of the famous cricketers and renowned actors during cricket tournaments like the IPL,” Goel said.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India will consider the issue seriously and take proactive steps to discourage players from promoting tobacco and/or alcohol related products,” he said.
The measures suggested by the DGHS include signing an anti-tobacco ‘declaration of interest’ form, not promoting/advertising in stadiums or events hosted or partnered by the BCCI, and issuing a directive to the players under the BCCI’s jurisdiction not to substitute promotion/partnership/advertisement of tobacco and related products.
“Furthermore, a request is hereby made not to allow other celebrities to run such alternative advertisements in BCCI’s sporting events like IPL. I hope you can understand that the celebrities doing these alternative advertisements are role models for millions of youngsters not only in the country but also across the world,” Goel said.
He said these measures will not only help reduce tobacco consumption, especially among youth, but will also reinforce the positive image of athletes as advocates of health and fitness and continue to uphold the highest standards of integrity and responsibility in sports.
The DGHS said smoking is a common risk factor for four major groups of non-communicable diseases – cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic lung diseases and diabetes.
India has the second highest number of tobacco-related deaths in the world, with nearly 1.35 million preventable deaths recorded each year. In addition, tobacco-related cancers account for 33% of all cancer cases in India, with nearly 50% of cancers in men and 17% in women being tobacco-related.
Goel said in the letter that multiple surveys have found that the age of smoking initiation in India is as low as 7 years old.
To address the issue of tobacco control, the Indian government launched the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in 2007-2008, which aims to create awareness among people about the harmful effects of tobacco consumption, reduce the production and availability of tobacco products, and ensure effective implementation of the provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA) and the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019 (PECA).
It also aims to help people quit smoking and promote the implementation of tobacco prevention and control strategies advocated by the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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