FDA Arrests 13 People For Selling Gutka & Pan Masala; Why Bollywood Celebs Must Stop Endorsing Such Brands

FDA (Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration) carried out several raids in Mumbai Suburban and arrested 13 people for selling pan masala and gutka in their shops. The raided Mumbai areas included Jogeshwari, Mulund, Dadar, Nagpada, Parel, and Borivali. This is a warning call for Bollywood celebrities to stop endorsing these brands.

It's been more than a decade since many state governments and municipalities banned these brands and have been working cautiously to raise awareness against their usage. However, it did not work. Many agencies have been trying to stop the racket and close it permanently, but somehow the system didn't let them do so. FDA's drive confiscated goods worth Rs. 1 lacs, and yet it is not even 1% of what they want to achieve.

This must be taken seriously by our Bollywood and TV actors. There has been constant negativity about Bollywood stars endorsing Pan, Gutka, and Supari products, yet they continued with their commercials, and for what? Money. Suniel Shetty has openly spoken about why he never endorsed these brands and how he never wished to earn money from something that's against the youth and their health. When will other Bollywood stars understand it?

These brands are harmful to youth, and the addiction to them eventually destroys their lives. The same people adore and follow Bollywood stars, and unfortunately, their favourite stars are promoting those harmful brands. Fans look at their stars as their icons, their idols, and their inspiration, but do they really deserve it? Some even worship them like God. Now tell me how they would feel seeing their God holding a pan masala, supari, or gutka in his hands and talking good about it when in his own films there would be a warning text saying, "Smoking/Addiction is injurious to health". That's irony.

Celebrities like Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Ranveer Singh, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff, Saif Ali Khan, Govinda, Sunny Leone, and a few more have endorsed these brands. While some of them decided to step away from the ad campaign, some are still attached to the brands.

The time has come for someone to stand up and speak openly about it the way Mr. Suniel Shetty did. Our fraternity should come together and ban all such endorsements and set an example for the world. I am sure their fans and netizens will respect them more after this. Continuing such endorsements will only bring hate and negativity towards them. It's high time they learn and act accordingly. To put it in one line, I'd say, "Human conscience and social awareness can never be bigger than stardom and money".