New Delhi: Facebook hosts at least 30 pages differently for Bidi companies, and many of these companies utilize the social media platform to facilitate sales, according to reports released on Wednesday.
Reports titled “Sell Death on Social Media: How Bidis Achieves Online Consumers” from the Global Public Health Organization Vital Strategy Detail Digital Media Monitoring Data with 344 Instance of Bidi Marketing in Social Media Between December 2020 and August 2021, almost exclusively through Facebook (98 percent).
This study shows that the tobacco industry uses Facebook to facilitate Bidi sales, avoid Indian cigarettes and tobacco tobacco product regulations, 2003 (COTPA) designed to protect youth and consumers from dangerous marketing.
This report further shows that nearly 24 percent of Bidi Marketing on social media use messaging that describes the midwise as part of an aspirational, fun or luxurious lifestyle.
About 20 percent of Bidi Marketing on social media also uses messages related to community celebrations, such as birthday famous figures and religious festivals including Holi and Eid – possibly in an effort to normalize tobacco use and connect it to family and community.
In 79 percent of cases, Bidi products are being marketed directly with clear product images, compared with 9 percent of other smoking products and less than 1 percent of smokeless products, which are often marketed indirectly through more ways to fight.
Current advertising regulations.
Released during the ninth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 9) to the WHO framework convention for tobacco control (WHO FCTC), the report emerged as social media marketing by tobacco and Bidi companies was public health attention, especially as evidence of the show that it led to an increase in possibilities Use of tobacco among young people.
Of the 267 million tobacco users in India, nearly 72 million adults smoke bidis, and almost half (47 percent) of their first bidi smoking users before their 10th birthday.
Easily accessible throughout the country and cheaper than cigarettes, it is estimated that eight times more bidisa as cigarettes are sold in India.
Although the midwes are more harmful to health than other tobacco products, they have flown under the radar regulation for too long.
“The social media giant has maintenance assignments, especially for younger users and other tobacco products (COTPA) 2003,” said Vaishakhi Mallik, Associate Director, Communications, India, Vital Strategy, in a statement.
“The deceptive nature of industrial marketing, now on a youth-friendly social media platform that often lacks age verification, can worsen the health crisis.
The Bidi industry and technology platform allows them to be responsible,” he added.
Study: The tobacco industry uses Facebook to avoid rules, facilitating Bidi sales
