Skip to content Skip to navigation

Activists to move High Court against Amitabh Bachchan for smoking on-screen

"We will seek justice in the honourable High Court of Bombay" said Dr Shekhar Salkar, General Secretary of National Organization for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE). "Mr.Amitabh Bachchan was clearly shown smoking a cigar [in 'Family' film] in all the display-hoardings prominently. This amounts to clear and unambiguous breach of the law prevalent within the state and the country. However the session court did not appreciate the view of NOTE India, thereby absolving the respondents of the charges" added Dr Salkar.

In March 2008, the Sessions Judge, North Goa, Mr U V Bakre had quashed the legal proceeding against Amitabh Bachchan, chairman of Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL), for smoking cigar on-screen in 'Family' film. The sessions' Court had also quashed the process issued against Mr Keshu Ramsay and M/s DMS Film Pvt Ltd.

These hoardings, showing Amitabh smoking a cigar, were in gross violation of The Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulations of the Trade and Commerce, Production Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 and under Section 7 of the Goa Prohibition of Smoking and Spitting Act, 1997.

The Cigarette and other tobacco products Act (2003) and other notifications have advocated for ban on portrayal of tobacco use in films, since it was identified by many studies done in India and abroad, that it influences children and young people to begin tobacco use. India's Health and Family welfare minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss had said during World Conference on Tobacco or Health (2006) while accepting the Luther Terry Award for tobacco control that:

"Studies have established that portrayal of tobacco use in films is one of the biggest influencer for young people to begin tobacco use. Since The Cigarette and other Tobacco Products Act (2003) came into increasing effect, not only tobacco use in films have been on the rise, but also tobacco brand placement."

However after about two years now, the words of Dr Ramadoss are yet to see the light of the day.

In January 2006 when Amitabh Bachchan smoked a cigar in 'Family' film and such posters were splashed all over India, NOTE (Goa) and Indian Society Against Smoking (ISAS, Lucknow) had issued legal notices to Amitabh Bachchan. NOTE went ahead with legal proceedings against the violation of the India's tobacco control Act.

"Exposure to tobacco use in movies is clearly linked to youth tobacco use. Simply put, more must be done to ensure that tobacco use in movies is removed from films seen by our nation's youth" said WHO awardee (2005) Professor Rama Kant, who is the founder-President of ISAS. "We have within our powers one simple and effective way to jump start the decline in youth tobacco use - delete tobacco use in films from the list of influences that rob our youth of longer and healthier lives by removing tobacco use from movies, unless they clearly depict the negative health effects" added Prof Kant.

"We anticipate that this [High Court judgement] would be a landmark case meriting a landmark judgement. It would either strengthen the case of anti-tobacco lobby vis-a-vis clandestine and surrogate advertisement of unhealthy products or it would prevail upon our lawmakers to resort to more stringent laws without exploitable loopholes" said Dr Salkar.

Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world. It causes 1 in 10 deaths among adults worldwide. In 2005, tobacco caused 5.4 million deaths, or an average of one death every 6 seconds. At the current rate, the death toll is projected to reach more than 8 million annually by 2030 and a total of up to one billion deaths in the 21st century.
Author info

bobbyramakant's picture

Comments

OMAR LUTHER KING's picture

Amitabh Bachchan, shame on you! Quit smoking or your esteemed fans will stop viewing your films and you will soon be forgotten. Omar Luther King B-60, Parijat Apts. West Enclave Pitampura DELHI 110034 Phone: 011-27030065 E-mail: calloflove@yahoo.com
AMIT KING's picture

My dad, Omar Luther king, has got it all wrong. Amitabh will not be forgotten. He will be remembered but for wrong reasons: for instigating the Indian youths to emulate his style of smoking which will cause them to die young before reaching the ripe age. AMIT KING love_of_jesus_christ@yahoo.com

Pages

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

Final NRC draft on June 30: SC

20 Feb 2018 - 3:10pm | AT News
NEW DELHI: The process to update NRC in Assam will be further expedited as the Supreme Court has asked the authority to publish the final draft on June 30.A division bench of the country’s top court...

Health awareness camp held at Tangla

7 Aug 2016 - 8:10pm | Jayanta Kumar Das
A day long Ayurvedic health awareness camp was held at Tangla on August 6.The health camp was organised at Lokapriya Bordoloi Smriti Bhawah,Tangla by a group of fifteen health conscious citizens of...

Dharna at Latashil against poaching

27 Jan 2008 - 1:16pm | editor
The All Assam Students Union will observe a statewide dharna on 2nd February demanding immediate steps to save the wildlife at the Kaziranga National Park. This was decided at a dharna staged at the...

Why Mukul Saikia was transferred ?

16 Feb 2017 - 9:04pm | AT News
The Sarbananda Sonowal Government is facing no less flak a day after it shunted Mukul Saikia, a senior police officer who has been leading the probes into a number of sensational corruption cases....

Other Contents by Author

The smoke-free policies in India were enforced since 2 October 2008 and different states are at varying levels of its implementation, yet the tobacco cessation services are still limited to very few clinics in India.A lead article published in The Economist (7-13 March 2009) says: "tobacco is more addictive than virtually all of them [narcotic drugs]."With tobacco being highly addictive, it is clear that for a successful implementation of the smoke-free policies, the scaling up of high-quality and reliable tobacco cessation services can no longer be ignored."Large areas in central and north-east India have more than 65 per cent tobacco use" said Dr Pratima Murthy, who is the...
On 23 January 2009, the Group of Ministers (GoM) in India will again meet to assuage concerns of tobacco lobby on pictorial warnings, health activists apprehend.This group of ministers (GoM) consists of: Pranab Mukherjee (External Affairs Minister), Kamal Nath (Commerce and Industry Minister), Priyaranjan Dasmunsi (former Information and Broadcasting Minister), S Jaipal Reddy (Urban Development Minister), Dr Anbumani Ramadoss (Health and family welfare Minister), and Oscar Fernandes (labour and employment Minister for state). The pictorial warnings on tobacco products are proven to reduce tobacco consumption. Particularly in countries like India, where literacy rates are alarmingly low, it...
To confront the present war posturing between India and Pakistan, the citizens of both countries are launching a joint signature petition campaign on 9 January 2009, to voice their mandate against terrorism, war posturing and to promote mutual cooperation and peace. This signature petition campaign shall conclude on 8 February 2009, after which these signatures shall be handed over to the heads of both the nations along with other prominent stakeholders. Citizens of both nations can also sign online here or by going to the following URL: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ indopak/petition.html The petition states that the citizens of Pakistan and India demand that: The Government of Pakistan...
The first patient was successfully treated by the state-of-the-art technology in radiotherapy – linear accelerator, which began functioning last week at RR Cancer Institute and Research Centre, Sri Ram Murti Smarak Institute of Medical Sciences (SRMSIMS), Bareilly in India.A linear accelerator (LINAC) is the device most commonly used for external beam radiation treatments for patients with cancer. The linear accelerator can also be used in stereotactic radiosurgery similar to that achieved using the gamma knife on targets within the brain. The linear accelerator can also be used to treat areas outside of the brain. It delivers a uniform dose of high-energy x-ray to the region of the...
India is reeking under increasing communal polarisation and urgent steps to check it are warranted. Between 24 August and 2 October 2008, more than 300 villages in 14 districts of Orissa state were affected by communal violence. 4,300 houses were burnt and 57 people were killed. 2 women were gang-raped. 149 churches and 13 educational institutions were attacked. In Kartnataka state, 19 churches in 4 districts were attacked and 20 women sustained serious injuries. In other states of India, like in Kerala 3 churches were attacked, in Madhya Pradesh 4 churches were attacked, and one church was attacked in Delhi and Tamil Nadu each. In the state of Uttarakhand, 2 people were killed. In all the...
India has boldly enforced the smoke-free policies banning smoking in public places and private areas with public access from 2 October 2008 – the birth anniversary of the father of nation Mahatma Gandhi.The government of India and countless people who have been advocating the enforcement of public health policies need due credit. It was certainly not so easy, more so because of the financially robust, strategically shrewd tobacco industry that has mastered the art of circumventing public interest policies and promoting a product (tobacco) that kills even when used as intended by the manufacturer.The tobacco industry, and other corporations or associations like ITC ltd, Indian Hotel...
The 3rd edition of the "Global Tobacco Treaty Action Guide 2008: Protecting Against Tobacco Industry Interference" was released earlier this week in many countries including India, during International Week of Resistance (IWR) to tobacco transnationals (22-28 September 2008). The Global Tobacco Treaty Action Guide 2008 is produced by Corporate Accountability International [which is in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO)], along with the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT).The need for IWR was never so acute – when on one hand government of India is resolved to enforce the nation-wide ban on smoking from 2 October 2008, the...
It is a pity that India's robust smoke-free policies have been challenged by those with vested interests neglecting the immense and undisputed proven public health benefits of implementing such policies for people at-large. India is to ban smoking in public places nation-wide from October 2. However the ITC Limited and the Indian Hotel Association are among those who have challenged these public health policies in the court of law. The hearing by the honourable court is due."Secondhand smoke, also know as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. It is...
There is a growing consensus to raise awareness about diabetes in the 50 days leading up to World Diabetes Day on 14 November 2008. The International Diabetes Federation announced that the theme for this year's campaign is "Diabetes in Children and Adolescents."Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases to affect children. It can strike children of any age, even toddlers and babies. Every day more than 200 children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, requiring them to take multiple daily insulin shots and monitor the glucose levels in their blood. It is increasing at a rate of 3% each year among children and rising even faster in pre-school children at a rate of 5% per year...
All tobacco products will display approved pictorial warnings and nicotine-tar levels from 30 November 2008, as per a notification issued by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (dated 27 August 2008), in accordance with the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003. The implementation of pictorial warnings on tobacco products in India was initially planned for February 2007, but got deferred four times thereon.Grim images of diseased lungs will appear on cigarette, bidi and gutkha packets, as per the notification, covering 40 per cent of the surface area of the tobacco...