Pan Bahar says Pierce Brosnan knew what he was endorsing; to continue to air ads

Despite the major controversy over Pierce Brosnan featuring in Pan Bahar advertisements, the pan masala brand has made it clear that the ad will continue to be aired. “The advertising will continue as per schedule, as originally planned. There will be no change and will run its course,” Mudit Jain, promoter of the pan masala maker said to The Economic Times. The company further claims that the Hollywood actor knew what Pan Bahar products are all about. The manufacturers say that there has been no violation of the contract signed by Brosnan as the product does not contain any nicotine or tobacco. [caption id=“attachment_3059946” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image courtesy: Twitter[/caption] The Times of India quotes a statement by Pawan Kumar Jain, a director of the company, saying, “This is hereby certified that Pan Bahar and Pan Bahar Crystal Pan Masala manufactured by us does not contain tobacco and nicotine and there is no tobacco product made under this brand name.” In a statement released to several media houses, the manufacturers say, “There is rave on social media regarding the new (ad) however we believe there is lack of awareness about the product that Mr Brosnan has done a short film for — a Pan Masala (Indian mouth freshener) which has betelnut, lime, catechu, cardamom seeds, sandal wood oil, and kewara in it and there is no tobacco, no nicotine content in this product.” Last week Pahlaj Nihalan, the CBFC chief spoke to DNA about the issue, “I haven’t seen the ad. But it is very difficult to believe Pierce Brosnan has done this. Money can hardly be a criteria when you’re selling death to people. However, he has chosen to do what he has done. But there is no way we can certify the ad. All pan masala, tobacco, alcohol ads are automatically and unconditionally banned.” Legally and constitutionally, all ads promoting alcohol and tobacco products are banned from all cinema television and electronic media. However with the statement from the manufacturers that the product contains no nicotine or tobacco this ban is not applicable on the product and they can continue to air the ad. After receiving flak for advertising a product that causes cancer, Brosnan had said in a statement last week , “As a man who has spent decades championing women’s healthcare and environmental protection, I was distressed to learn of Pan Bahar’s unauthorised and deceptive use of my image to endorse their range of pan masala products. I would never have entered into an agreement to promote a product in India that is dangerous to one’s health. Brosnan asked the company to remove his image from all their products. However the company has not yet responded to this demand.