In a major respite to film and TV industry, Government has relaxed anti-tobacco regulations for them, including on mandatory disclaimers by actors about ill-effects of tobacco during screening of their films, and has done away with a clause on censor certification.

The amendment to the October 27, 2011 notification of the Health Ministry comes in the wake of Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry locking horns with the Health Ministry over its implementation, citing operational problems after objections were raised by filmmakers, TV producers and actors.

The new notification approved by the Health Ministry and to be enforced from October 2 drops the earlier condition which required Central Board of Film Certification to review films based on tobacco display and give U/A certificate to the ones that promote use of various forms of tobacco.

"Earlier the Censor Board had been asked to give U/A certification on the basis of tobacco use. Now tobacco use is not a condition for grant of U/A certificate. That requirement has been removed," a Health Ministry official said.

On the issue of disclaimers, he said that "the producers were arguing that it would be difficult to get actors to read out disclaimers especially in case of foreign films. So we have dropped that condition but disclaimers remain in other forms."

The notification now says that the Ministry of Health will produce an audio visual disclaimer and send it to the Censor Board for further implementation by filmmakers in cases where the actors are unavailable for the disclaimer.

"Every film and TV producer would have to show this disclaimer of 20 seconds at the start and middle of the programme or film. The only relaxation to the industry is that actors need not say disclaimers. We will produce audio-visual disclaimers and send them to Censor Board for use," he said.

Anti-tobacco health spots of minimum 30 seconds would also have to be shown in the beginning and middle of the film or a TV programme.

In another amendment to the 2011 notification, the Health Ministry has said that instead of scrolls, the film and TV producers can show anti-tobacco stills of 30 seconds each.

"Anti tobacco health warnings saying 'Smoking causes cancer' or 'Smoking kills' must be shown as a prominent static message at the bottom of the TV or a film during the period of display of the tobacco products and their use in the said programme," the notification issued by Ministry says.

The requirement is that the anti-tobacco still should be in the same language as that of the programme.

The Health Ministry has not budged on its earlier demand that filmmakers and TV serial producers give a strong editorial justification for tobacco use in their film and programmes.

Cinema hall owners and TV broadcasters who fail to comply with the new rules could face cancellation or suspension of their licences under the existing rules.

The new rules have been notified as amendments to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce Production Supply and Distribution) Rules 2004 which regulate tobacco use in India.