The Effectiveness of Tobacco Disclaimers on OTT Platforms

In May 2023, the MoHFW brought in the regulation of tobacco depiction on OCCPs or OTT content platforms, requiring them to put a health spot of a minimum of 30 seconds along with a prominent health disclaimer on online curated content. A recent report by researchers at the Koan Advisory Group, in collaboration with survey partner Youth Ki Awaaz, examines the trade-offs of mandatory health warnings during smoking scenes in OTT content, with data from a primary survey of about 1,900 OTT viewers. Carl Jaison speaks to Tamanna Sharma, Associate at Koan Advisory Group, on a major gap in existing research that prompted them to conduct this study: the need for more young consumer feedback. They discuss the key findings & results from the research and the key recommendations on alternate strategies for an industry-led response by OTT platforms. Link to the report: The Effectiveness of Tobacco Disclaimers on OTT Content Services