Maharashtra FDA has issued notices to three major Bollywood endorsers.
Regulators allege the Vimal Elaichi campaign indirectly promotes prohibited pan masala.
FDA seized banned products worth ₹15.11 crore during recent raids.
Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff have been issued show-cause notices by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration over their Vimal Elaichi advertisement. The regulator has alleged that the campaign could amount to surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala, a product currently prohibited in Maharashtra.
Why did the Maharashtra FDA issue notices?
According to The Indian Express report, the notices were issued this week and ask the three actors to explain their involvement in the advertisement. The Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra (FDA) believes the presentation, dialogue, product name and wider market association create a possible link between Vimal Elaichi and Vimal Pan Masala.
The regulator has cited Section 24 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which deals with misleading food advertisements, along with Section 53, under which a penalty of up to ₹10 lakh can be imposed for publishing a misleading food advertisement.
The notice reportedly states that the advertisement “prima facie appears” to promote the Vimal brand, which is mainly associated with pan masala. The FDA has also referred to the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018.
Maharashtra FDA’s crackdown on banned products
The action comes as the Maharashtra FDA intensifies its crackdown on gutkha and tobacco- or nicotine-containing pan masala. The state has prohibited such products since 2012, with the latest prohibition coming into effect on July 13, 2026.
Between May 25 and July 31, the FDA reportedly raided 658 establishments, seized banned products worth ₹15.11 crore, registered 519 FIRs and made 701 arrests. It also seized 78 vehicles carrying banned goods worth ₹6.6 crore.
The reports also claim that FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe directed officials in June to coordinate with police and invoke MCOCA, where applicable, against organised networks dealing in banned tobacco products.
Vimal Elaichi campaign has faced scrutiny before
The controversy involving Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff is not the first time the Vimal Elaichi campaign has faced regulatory scrutiny. The brand’s advertising practices had come under the scanner earlier, although the previous action was directed at the company rather than the actors.
In 2018, the Directorate General of Health Services issued show-cause notices to Vishnu Pouch Packaging Pvt Ltd, which promoted Vimal Elaichi, alleging that its advertising amounted to indirect promotion of tobacco products under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003. The matter later reached the Delhi High Court, which in January 2024 dismissed DGHS appeals against trial court orders that had stayed the notices.
The latest action brings Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff themselves into the regulatory spotlight, with the Maharashtra FDA now seeking explanations over their participation in the Vimal Elaichi advertisement.
