As part of India's anti-tobacco drive, the health ministry last month ordered streaming platforms to insert static health warnings during smoking scenes within three months. IAMAI asked the health ministry to revisit the "onerous" rules, saying a survey had shown viewers were indifferent to depictions of smoking on streaming platforms, the letter said. Beyond Hollywood content, streaming companies Netflix (NFLX.O), Amazon (AMZN.O), Disney (DIS.N) and JioCinema have become increasingly popular in India. Activists have welcomed India's new rules, saying it would discourage smoking in a country where tobacco kills 1.3 million people each year. All smoking and alcohol drinking scenes in movies in India's cinemas and on TV, under law, require health warnings, but there were so far no regulations for the streaming giants.

---

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mukesh Ambani's, IAMAI, Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine, Sanjay Seth, Seth, Aditya Kalra, William Maclean Organizations: Netflix, Disney, REUTERS, Reuters, Internet, Mobile Association of India, Health Foundation, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India