The controversy surrounding the new tobacco advertisement featuring Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Akshay Kumar is not dying down.
After Akshay Kumar’s public apology and Ajay Devgn’s defense of his “personal choice” of starring in a tobacco brand’s elaichi product ad, an IAS officer from West Bengal has come down heavily on actors like SRK, Ajay, and Amitabh Bachchan.
IAS officer Awanish Sharan took to Twitter and shared a picture of one of the pillars of the iconic Howrah Bridge. He wrote in his tweet, “Kolkata Port Trust has said saliva laced with gutkha is corroding the iconic 70-year-old bridge. The Howrah Bridge is under attack from gutkha-chewers.”
The sale of gutkha or paan masala (both tobacco products) is completely banned in West Bengal as per a notification by West Bengal’s health department.
The notification dated October 26, 2021, issued under the signature of Tapan K Rudra, commissioner of food safety, West Bengal, read, “As per regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations 2011 made by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, in the exercise of powers conferred by clause (i) of sub-section (2) of section 92 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Central Act 34 of 2006) read with section 26 thereof, prohibits the sale of articles of food in which tobacco and/or nicotine are used as ingredients, as they may be injurious to health.”
The IAS officer also tagged actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Amitabh Bachchan.
