VIDEO: No more smoking or drinking on TV

All programmes aired on TV channels should not have smoking or drinking scenes in them starting from September 1, 2011, the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) informs.

However, it added that if the programme was produced before the NATA Act became operative or if there are formidable practical difficulties in deleting such scenes, TV channels are to conform to the following instructions instead of covering those scenes with mosaics.

1. In the full 20 seconds preceding the commencement of the programme, TV channels should air the opening message provided by NATA without any obstruction or comment.

2. Whenever smoking or drinking scenes appear during a programme appropriate message provided by NATA should be aired on the bottom or top of the screen in an area occupying not less than 1/5 of the screen.

3. For a programme originally produced in language A and is subtitled or dubbed in language B, the message in language B should be displayed.

NATA Chairman, Prof Carlo Fonseka addressing a media briefing today (August 29) insisted that the appropriate message should be aired for the full duration depicting the smoking or drinking scene while the minimum display duration of the message is 5 seconds.

The instructions apply to all TV channels, he stressed.

The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol claims that according to expert opinion the mechanism to mask smoking/drinking scenes with mosaics is ineffective.

Therefore NATA, the country’s main agency for tobacco and alcohol control and implementing of ‘Mathata Thitha,’ with the assistance of the Secretary of the Mass Media and Information Ministry has carried out the above mentioned protocol.

“With the primary objective of protecting children from being deceptively enticed to tobacco and alcohol use.”

Above is a sample video of the messages provided by NATA to be displayed by television channels during smoking or drinking scenes.