The Delhi government has certainly given tobacco firms and their brand ambassadors something to chew on.

Cracking down on surrogate advertising, the administration has issued a showcause notice to gutka and pan masala manufacturing companies such as Vimal Pan Masala, Rajnigandha, Kamla Pasand, Pan Bahar, Shikhar, actor Ajay Devgn, director-producer Rohit Shetty and makers of the film Ittefaq for promoting indirect sale of tobacco products.

According to an official, soon after the notice all the advertisement and the posters of the film showing an actor smoking were changed.

"These companies have replied to us that they will not promote surrogate advertisement with the help of actors," Dr SK Arora, additional director of public health, state tobacco control officer, told Mail Today.

"At the time of Holi, the Delhi government issued a fresh showcause notice to Vimal Pan Masala company, actor Ajay Devgn and a leading print media firm for endorsing Vimal Iliachi. This advertisement was published in a leading English daily newspaper."

India has about 100 million smokers. Millions also consume gutka, a heady form of chewing tobacco made of crushed betel nut, nicotine and laced with thousands of chemicals.

Many states have banned the open sale of the products and have run a series of campaigns designed to discourage people from buying them. Tobacco use kills over 9,00,000 people a year in the country, according to studies. The government has pulled up media houses for promoting surrogate advertisement of tobacco.

"During the India-Sri Lanka (cricket) match, we wrote to the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) to keep vigilance on pan masala advertisements which were withdrawn later," said Arora.

For Pan Bahar, Delhi government sent a showcause notice to Hollywood actor Pierce Brosnan, added the officer. A reply is still awaited.

"Delhi has become the first state in the country for compliance in prohibited direct advertisement of tobacco products is nearly 99 per cent since May 2017. The Delhi government is taking these initiatives under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003 of the central government. Promotion of tobacco brands is a violation under section 5 of COTPA," informed Arora.

COTPA is an Act of Parliament enacted in 2003 to prohibit advertisement of and to provide for the regulation of trade and commerce in and production and supply and distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco products in India.

"Lung cancer has become the second-most common cancer in India. Smoking tobacco, both cigarettes and beedis, is the principle risk factor for causation of lung cancer in the Indian population," said Dr Abhishek Shankar, assistant professor in the department of preventive oncology at AIIMS.

"The state health department also issued a notice to Karan Johar, Dharma Productions and the owner of a private TV network for publicising tobacco products in a reality show - India's Next Superstars. As soon as we pulled them up, the production house and channel owners stopped airing the advertisement," said Arora.

The movie poster of Ittefaq was changed by Dharma Productions.