James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan issued with show cause notice over pan masala advt

Former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan who made headlines due to his Pan Bahar commercial last year has been issued a show cause notice by the Delhi’s Health officials on Wednesday.

The health officials said that Mr Brosnan had been issued a show cause notice in which he is asked to justify his appearance in a James Bond style for the Pan Masala.

The authorities have warned Pierce Brosnan that the ads of pan masala still appear at large and he could be violating Indian laws against tobacco advertising.

Delhi Health Department official SK Arora said, "We saw Pierce Brosnan's posters advertising Pan Bahar (a paan masala brand) at tobacco shops in Delhi in the last fortnight’’.

Even the authorities had tried to reach out to the actor in the past but no response was received in this regard.

Earlier, the Irish actor said that the contract stated that he was to advertise a ‘Breath Freshner/Tooth Whitener’ but was shocked and saddened by the deceptive use of his image in the product’s advt.

Mr Arora said that the 64-year old actor could face a fine of Rs 5,000 or a jail term of upto 2 years, if he fails to respond in 10 days.

Chewing tobacco had been linked to cancer and millions of Indians chewed pan masala every day, Mr Arora added.