Pierce Brosnan has been asked by the Delhi government’s health department to explain his involvement in an advert for a local mouth freshener associated with an addictive form of chewing tobacco.
Indian law prohibits all advertisements of tobacco products, meaning the 64-year-old actor could be fined 5,000 rupees (€63) or go to jail for two years, if he doesn't respond to the show-cause notice within 10 days.
It is not clear how this will be enforced if Brosnan fails to reply within the allocated time.
Delhi government issues notice to #PierceBrosnan over a paan masala advertisement https://t.co/ER7tFVCh3n pic.twitter.com/8GELTurPyf
— scroll.in (@scroll_in) February 14, 2018
"We have issued the notice to Pierce Brosnan through the company, and also reached out to him via social media platforms," officials from Delhi's health department were quoted as saying in the Indian Express newspaper.
Pan Bahar is commonly associated with pan masala and gutka, a potent mixture of tobacco, crushed betel nut, lime, and clove among other ingredients.
It is chewed by millions of people, who get addicted to its mildly psychotropic effects.
