Health ministry ask BCCI to stop showing tobacco ads during cricket matches

Union Health Ministry has asked the BCCI to stop displaying hoardings with smokeless tobacco advertisements, especially surrogate ads by gutka manufacturers endorsed by Bollywood celebrities and former cricketers inside the stadiums. 

As per sources, the health ministry has sent a communique to BCCI asking it to stop open branding of eating tobacco companies on billboards in the stadiums  controlled by BCCI. 

“The Health Ministry will officially take it up also with BCCI,” said a source privy to the matter. 

In this connection the Union Health Secretary will also meet BCCI officials to discuss the surrogate ads by gutka manufacturers endorsed by Bollywood celebrities and former cricketers, in stadiums. 

The government action follows surrogate ads in which many prominent public figures were shown promoting ‘elaichi’ mouth fresheners manufactured by smokeless tobacco product makers.
Notably, a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Vital Strategies, a global health organisation, which was published in the British Medical Journal in May highlighted that as much as 41.3 per cent of all surrogate ads of smokeless tobacco (SLT) brands in 2023 were displayed during the last 17 matches of the cricket world cup.
As a result, the Union Health Ministry has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to stop showing smokeless tobacco advertisements, especially surrogate ads for 'gutka' endorsed by Bollywood celebrities in cricket grounds.

The trend of showcasing smokeless tobacco products, including Gutka – a mixture of pan masala and chewing tobaccco has of late come to the fore at several cricket grounds that hosted popular tournaments. These ads were found in the form of  IPL display advertisements. 

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in 2016-17, conducted by the World Health Organization and the Union Health Ministry has asserted that tobacco consumption in its various forms is responsible for nearly 1.35 million every year.