If there’s one cricket tournament that every Indian is excited for, it has to be the Indian Premier League (IPL). What makes IPL memorable for most of us are the plenty of quirky and creative advertisements (ads) playing in between intervals during live telecasts. However, now the Union Health Ministry has asked IPL to ban tobacco and alcohol ads during matches, citing that the IPL has a social responsibility of promoting public health.
IPL 2025: Government Asks IPL To Ban Tobacco And Alcohol Ads
This request by the Union Health Ministry comes just a few weeks ahead of the 18th edition of the IPL. The IPL season will begin on 22nd March, 2025, and the finals will be held on 25th May, 2025. During the IPL season, different teams representing different Indian cities will engage in a nail-biting competition, with 74 total matches being played in this season.
The Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Atul Goel wrote a letter to IPL Chairman Arun Singh Dhumal, urging them to ban all tobacco and alcohol ads. This includes surrogate promotions, within stadium premises during matches as well as during live telecast on national television. This letter was also addressed to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He stated that it is their (IPL) “social and moral obligation” to promote public health.
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The letter further suggested that they should implement the ban on all affiliated sports events. He also mentioned in his letter that they should discourage the promotion of sportspersons (including commentators) who directly or indirectly endorse products linked to tobacco or alcohol.
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Influence Of IPL And Cricket On India’s Public Health
Cricket is India’s most loved sport and IPL is the most watched sports event in the country. The sports event is watched by millions of Indians religiously, so promoting the right products during such events becomes crucial. India ranks second worldwide when it comes to tobacco-related deaths, about 14 lakh annual deaths. At such times, promoting public health through influential mediums like IPL will help send out a socially conscious message to millions of Indians. Each cricketer has a massive fanbase across India and many fans literally worship these sportspeople. When these sportspeople have massive fan followings, they also have massive influence on their fans. So, when a cricketer endorses a particular product, his/her fans are more likely to buy it or consume it.
When sportspeople endorse harmful products like tobacco or alcohol, directly or indirectly, they send out a contradictory message to the public about health and fitness.
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Summing Up
The government’s move to urge IPL to ban alcohol and tobacco related promotions in the stadium premises as well as on live television is definitely a positive step towards promoting public health on a large scale. Given the influence the sports tournament and the cricketers have, the ban only makes sense.
