Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued show-cause notices to Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over a Vimal Elaichi advertisement. The regulator has raised concerns that the campaign could amount to indirect or surrogate promotion of the banned Vimal Pan Masala brand.
The notices seek an explanation from the three actors about their role in the advertisement as Maharashtra continues its crackdown on products containing tobacco or nicotine.
ALSO READ: Madras HC Backs Sunny Deol’s ‘Batwara 1947’, Orders Action Against Pirated Copies
Why Maharashtra FDA Issued The Notices
According to the FDA, the brand name, dialogue and manner of presentation used in the advertisement create an association between Vimal and pan masala. The regulator is examining whether the promotion of Vimal Elaichi indirectly advertises the prohibited product.
Maharashtra has prohibited gutkha and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine under Section 30(2)(a) of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSS Act) since 2012. The prohibition is renewed every year, with the latest renewal coming into effect on July 13, 2026.
The FDA has cited Sections 24 and 53 of the FSS Act in the notices. It said misleading food advertisements can attract a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh.
Maharashtra: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued show-cause notices to actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, and Tiger Shroff for advertising Vimal Pan Masala. The FDA has directed them to remove the advertisements from social media within 15 days under the Consumer… pic.twitter.com/wvTvMLjDV9
— IANS (@ians_india) August 16, 2026
Vimal Elaichi Campaign Has Faced Regulatory Scrutiny Before
The Vimal Elaichi campaign has previously attracted regulatory attention, although that matter involved a different law and was directed against the promoter.
In 2018, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) issued a show-cause notice to Vishnu Pouch Packaging Private Limited, the company involved in promoting and advertising Vimal Elaichi. The action was taken under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003.
The company was accused of indirectly advertising tobacco products by featuring a Bollywood star in a campaign allegedly designed to appeal to young people.
The company challenged the notice, maintaining that it did not manufacture any tobacco product for the ‘VIMAL’ brand in the domestic market.
In January 2024, the Delhi High Court dismissed a DGHS appeal against trial court orders that had allowed the company to continue advertising non-tobacco products. The question of whether the campaign amounted to surrogate advertising remained disputed.
The High Court said the company had a “fundamental right to carry on the business of non-tobacco pan masala as long as it has constitutional sanction”.
What The FDA Notices Mean For The Actors
The latest notices do not state that the three actors have been found guilty of violating the law. Instead, the FDA has sought their explanations over their involvement in the advertisement and the possible connection between the Vimal Elaichi promotion and the banned Vimal Pan Masala brand.
The matter now puts the spotlight once again on the long-running debate around surrogate advertising of tobacco-related products and the responsibilities of celebrities appearing in such campaigns.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
