Smoking Advertisements on Smartphones

Tobacco companies have recently found a new way to target individuals for their tobacco products, specifically cigarettes. Plenty of pro-smoking advertisements, many of which feature different cigarette brand names and images, are being promoted on smartphones to a broad range of individuals, including children and teens. A lead author for the study, Nasser Dhim, has said, “The regulation of these apps is lagging behind the legislation in Australia and many other countries which ban tobacco advertising including through the internet and virtual stores.” Dhim also said, “This is despite the fact that the Apple and Android app stores have the technological infrastructure to block the sale of apps in accordance with local laws. As we show in our study Apple has already used this technology to ban access to certain content on its app store, in both China and Saudi Arabia.”

Tobacco Products Sales Banned

A clause in Section 6 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) prohibits sale of tobacco products within 100-metre radius of educational institutes, but there are several areas in the city where the rule is being defied. Even after complaints by some colleges, many stalls within this radius are openly selling items like cigarettes and gutkhas. However, most of the colleges are taking all necessary steps to ensure that students do not smoke on the campuses. Places like Fergusson College (FC) Road and Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC) Road have several shops and stalls selling tobacco products. The police department and Pune Municipal Corporation have not taken any action in spite of colleges sending letters to them to remove such stalls. So now the colleges are trying their best to control the menace at least on the campuses. FC principal Ravindra Pardeshi said, "We had written to the police department and PMC about a year ago, but did not get a reply and the stalls are still functioning. However, we have kept our campus completely smoke free.