A national anti-tobacco organization has asked Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan to withdraw from an advertising campaign promoting pan masala. The organization gives a reason that the campaign would motivate youngsters to get obsessed with tobacco addiction.
As per ABP, The President of the National Organization for Eradication of Tobacco Mr. Shekhar Salkar has issued a written letter to megastar Amitabh Bachchan, which states that it is proven in medical research that addiction to tobacco and pan masala decays the health of the person who is consuming it, especially the youth. Therefore, saying that since Mr. Bachchan is the government brand ambassador for the high-profile pulse polio campaign, so, he should withdraw himself from the pan masala ads as soon as possible.
The letter was written to Mr, Bachchan reads - "Pan (betel leaf) can act as a direct carcinogenic. Recent research has shown that the substances in betel quid could change into carcinogens in the body, leading to oral cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) accepts the scientific evidence that chewing betel quids (pan) is carcinogenic for humans."
Mr. Salkar also added that "As an oncologist and member of an NGO working in the field of tobacco cessation, I am aggrieved and provoked to wage war against the dubious measures, such embellishment done by various influential and famous Bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh, and Hritik Roshan, leading to increased tobacco use among students." The letter is also indicating that students have now become a target audience for cigarette and tobacco companies.
It has been observed that on various occasions over the last ten years, a NOTE has addressed celebrities over smoking in public. In the year 2010, arbitration by a NOTE mentioning to Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgan being penalized for smoking at a public place at an International Film Festival of India venue in Panaji, Goa.
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