Ministry treads careful

The information and broadcasting ministry is determined to take endorsements of carcinogenic products such as gutka and nicotine seriously. With popular Bollywood actors like Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Manoj Bajpai and Rajnessh Duggal endorsing the product, the ministry feels it is time that these advertisements need be looked at cautiously.

If sources close to the ministry are to be believed, the ministry intends to clamp down very heavily on celebrities endorsing alcohol and nicotine products. "Censor certification of carcinogenic products like cigarettes, alcohol and paan masala is forbidden by law. Endorsing such products will also be banned soon," says an I & B source.

In 2016, when Pierce Brosnan appeared in an advertisement for Pan Bahar, he received a lot of negative feedback for promoting a brand and a product that is linked to an addictive form of tobaccor that leads to oral cancer. The actor later said that he was “cheated” by a mouth freshener company that had employed him to promote its brand. He said that the brand didn’t disclose the hazardous nature of the product.

The ministry already has certain regulations in place. For instance, a disclaimer pops up every time someone on the screen uses a carcinogenic product. However, now it feels like that is the bare minimum done. The ministry is gearing up for serious action not just against the advertising of these products but also of the brand ambassadors.