Tobacco companies also earmark a large investment per annum on outdoor promotions, including sponsorship of sports and cultural events. Cigarettes make up for 19 percent of tobacco consumption in India while bidis comprise the lion's share of 54 percent and oral intake, the remaining 27 percent. Shunu Sen, chief executive officer of marketing and advertising consultancy Quadra Advisory, however, said that the government's decision to ban advertisement of tobacco products was in line with the advertising guidelines in other developed countries that have banned any kind of tobacco promotional activity. The decision is not very different from what is happening in other countries. Refuting the claims of the advertising agencies, Sen said tobacco advertisements are aimed at increasing the sale of tobacco products and not just maintaining brand loyalty.
Industry analysts say support for the ban is inspired by the nature of cigarette advertising itself.
N. Bhaskara Rao of the Center for Media Studies said the ban on advertising of tobacco products in mass media would force the companies to explore other avenues to promote their brands. According to Rao, the ban would mainly hit the advertisement revenues of print media. Overall, tobacco advertisements account for nearly two percent of India's total ad sales. The code, which was not law and nor was it legally enforceable by ASCI, barred advertising agencies from overtly persuading people to start smoking, using celebrity endorsements and targeting consumers younger than 18 years. The code failed to make any impact on the advertisement of tobacco products as it was not mandatory.