BMTC buses carry ads allegedly promoting Gutkha, Elaichi

Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses have been wrapped in advertisements that indirectly promote gutkha and chewing tobacco, marketed as “Elaichi,” according to a report by The New Indian Express.

SJ Chander, convener of the Consortium for Tobacco Free Karnataka, expressed concern, stating that after the ban on gutkha advertisements, companies were “making a mockery of the law.”

The ads have reignited public debate in Bengaluru over surrogate advertising of gutkha and chewing tobacco. BMTC officials, however, maintain that the corporation does not permit chewing tobacco promotion.

Chander argued that advertising products like “kesar” is a psychological ploy: consumers see the ad and end up purchasing gutkha, not kesar.

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Experts cited in the report highlighted the human cost, particularly among daily-wage workers and laborers. YG Muralidharan, founder of the Consumer Rights Education and Awareness Trust and public health activist, noted that oral cancer leads to painful deaths and raised concerns about public spitting and associated health risks.

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A 2023 letter from the health department to KSRYC and BMTC instructed that advertisements for tobacco and pan masala products, including brands such as Vimal, Cool Lip, and RMD, should not appear on buses. Direct or indirect advertising of tobacco products violates Section 5 of the COTPA and Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), added the report.