The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Maharashtra has decided to take legal action against Bollywood celebrities who endorse tobacco or pan masala products or surrogate advertisements which promote gutkha consumption. Bollywood stars to face trouble include Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan and Govinda.
The action against Bollywood celebs was announced at an event organized for sharing World Health Organization (WHO) report on the impact and effectiveness of a legal ban on gutkha in Maharashtra.
“We will be issuing notices to Bollywood stars, who appear in the advertisements of pan masala and similar products. We want the anti-tobacco movement to be driven by the people with governmental support. At present, it is mainly driven by the government. We need a social legislation.” FDA commissioner Dr. Harshdeep Kamble said during the event.
The study revealed that gutkha consumption has decreased to a considerable amount in Maharashtra since the ban is imposed. In the survey conducted among gutkha users of Thane and Mumbai, only 36% agreed that they still managed to obtain gutkhas.
Sale, manufacture, distribution and storage of gutka and all its variants is banned in at least 24 states of India. These states include Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
