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INDIA - Delhi health officials have threatened to fine or jail the actor Pierce Brosnan if he fails to explain why he appeared in adverts for a chewing mixture that sometimes includes tobacco.
Brosnan appeared nearly months ago in T9 and newspaper ads for a brand of pan masala, a popular Indian mixture that can contain tobacco, lime, spices and nuts. The specific variety Brosnan was endorsing did not contain tobacco but some of the company’s products include supari, a kind of nut considered by the World +ealth Organisation to be carcinogenic. The campaign was suspended after causing an uproar, and Brosnan said he was ³deeply shocked and saddened” that his image had been used to promote a potentially harmful product. On Monday the Delhi health department issued a show-cause notice to the Irish actor demanding he explain his appearance in the commercials, which it claims were a form of ³surrogate advertisement” intended to evade a ban on promoting tobacco. ³We have issued the notice to Pierce Brosnan through the company, and also reached out to him via social media platforms,” 6. Arora, a health official with the Delhi government, told the Indian Express. ³If he fails to respond to the notice, he would face punishment of a fine up to Rs5,000 or two years in prison.”
Pan masala products containing tobacco have been known to increase the risk of mouth and throat cancers. The redtinted teeth of regular chewers are a common sight across India and red splotches of pan masala stain many Indian streets. Brosnan said at the time of the controversy he was under the impression he was promoting a ³breath freshener tooth whitener all-natural, containing neither tobacco, supari nor any other harmful ingredient”. +e said the company, Pan Bahar, had ³grossly manipulated” the advertisements to suggest the star was endorsing its entire product line. ³+aving endured, in my own personal life, the loss of my first wife and daughter as well as numerous friends to cancer, I am fully committed to supporting women’s healthcare and research programmes that improve human health and alleviate suffering,” Brosnan said. Pan Bahar has denied it misled Brosnan and emphasised that its product is a mouth freshener that should not be associated with chewing tobacco. (The Guardian)