Union health ministry’s directive!
The health ministry of the Indian government plans to ask the BCCI to stop showing surrogate ads for smokeless tobacco at cricket stadiums or venues. Smokeless tobacco is a type of tobacco that people chew instead of smoking.
The government is worried that these ads, which often feature famous people, might make kids curious and want to try them. They don’t want kids to be addicted to these harmful products.
By asking for these ads to be taken down, the government wants to keep everyone safe and healthy. They want everyone to know that tobacco is not good for anyone!
What are surrogate ads?
Sometimes, ads don’t show the actual product but something similar to it. These tricky ads are called "surrogate ads."
Imagine you see an ad for a chocolate bar by a company. However, the company actually sells something harmful. They use the chocolate ad to mislead you into looking at their other products.
That's what surrogate ads do– presenting something else to conceal what they're actually selling.
The government has rules that stop ads for tobacco. But some ads show things like pan masala or mouth fresheners instead of tobacco to get around these rules.
Now, the health ministry wants the BCCI to stop showing these sneaky ads at cricket games. They want to make sure that no one is tricked into seeing ads for smokeless tobacco.
Even though harmful, companies still advertise such products!
Smokeless tobacco, like gutka, is very bad for someone. It can make people very sick with diseases like cancer.
The Indian government wants to prevent people from using it and has put up warning signs. But some companies still sell it and don’t care about the harm.
We should help by staying away from these products and telling our friends and family to be safe and healthy!
