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Relevance: GS-II (Governance); GS-IV (Ethics); GS-III (Economy) Source: Consumer Rights & Governance Updates, 2026

1 · Context

Have you ever wondered why famous Bollywood actors endorse products like cardamom (elaichi) or packaged water using the exact same brand name, style, and logo as banned tobacco or pan masala products? This clever marketing trick is known as Surrogate Advertising.
Recently, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took a landmark step by issuing show-cause notices to top actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff for promoting these proxy items. This issue sits at the intersection of consumer protection, public health, and corporate ethics. It raises a critical question: Should influential celebrities be held legally liable for promoting harmful products through legal loopholes?

2 · How Surrogate Advertising Works

Step 1: The Strict Legal Ban
Laws like COTPA and state health regulations completely prohibit the direct advertising of harmful goods like tobacco, gutkha, and nicotine-laced pan masala.
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Step 2: Launching a Proxy Product
Companies introduce a legal, harmless proxy item (like mouth freshener or music CDs) using the exact same brand name, colors, and fonts as the banned product.
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Step 3: Leveraging Celebrity Appeal
Top actors endorse this proxy item. Because consumers already link the brand name with tobacco, it keeps the banned product fresh in public memory.
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Step 4: Regulatory Action
Under stringent consumer protection guidelines, authorities can now penalize advertisers heavily and ban celebrity endorsers for up to 3 years.

3 · Key Legal Concepts

CCPA Guidelines, 2022
The Consumer Watchdog
Issued under the Consumer Protection Act, these rules explicitly outlaw surrogate ads, empowering regulators to fine both corporate manufacturers and celebrity endorsers.
COTPA, 2003
Banning Tobacco Ads
Section 5 of COTPA comprehensively prohibits both direct and indirect (surrogate) advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of all tobacco products across media platforms.
Article 47 (DPSP)
The State’s Duty
Directs the State to raise nutritional levels, improve public health, and endeavor to ban the consumption of intoxicating drugs and drinks that are injurious to health.
The Legal Loophole
The Corporate Defense
Companies argue they hold a fundamental right to conduct business for legal products like cardamom, creating a legal grey area for regulators trying to prove underlying intent.

Prelims Quick Facts: Penalties & Enforcement
Endorser Penalties The CCPA can fine celebrity endorsers up to ₹10 lakh for an initial violation, rising to ₹50 lakh for repeat offenses, along with a 1 to 3-year endorsement ban.
FSS Act, Section 30 Empowers state Food Safety Commissioners to ban hazardous food items. Maharashtra has continuously prohibited gutkha and nicotine pan masala under this provision.
Aggressive Drives State FDA operations have successfully raided hundreds of establishments, seizing illegal stock worth crores of rupees and registering multiple FIRs against violators.
Ethical Dilemma Because top actors wield massive cultural influence over youth, endorsing proxy products actively undermines national public health campaigns and anti-tobacco drives.

MCQ Practice Question
Q. With reference to the legal and regulatory framework governing surrogate advertising in India, consider the following statements:

  1. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is legally empowered to impose financial penalties and endorsement bans on celebrity endorsers of misleading ads.
  2. Section 5 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, exclusively targets direct advertising and permits indirect surrogate promotion of tobacco.
  3. State Food Safety Commissioners derive their statutory authority to ban gutkha and nicotine-laced pan masala from the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only    (b) 2 and 3 only    (c) 1 and 3 only    (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

  • Statement 1 — Correct: The CCPA possesses statutory authority under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to penalize and ban celebrity endorsers for misleading or surrogate ads.
  • Statement 2 — Incorrect (the trap): Section 5 of COTPA comprehensively prohibits both direct and indirect (surrogate) advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of tobacco products.
  • Statement 3 — Correct: Under Section 30(2)(a) of the FSS Act, 2006, state food safety commissioners are legally empowered to prohibit specified harmful food articles for public health.
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