The Delhi government has written to Bollywood actors including Ajay Devgan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Saif Ali Khan, urging them not to endorse pan masala products as they contain a potential carcinogen. The Aam Aadmi Party government has also asked the actors to join its anti-tobacco campaign to save the lives of lakhs of people who die due to oral cancer every year, reported PTI.

Dr SK Arora, Additional Director (Health), Delhi government, wrote in his letters to the celebrities that there is a lot of scientific evidence which proves that the areca nut (supari), which is the main ingredient of pan masala, causes cancer. "Moreover, some of these pan masala advertisements are surrogate advertisements of tobacco products, which the manufacturing companies try to promote," he wrote.

The Delhi government, which aims to make the city tobacco-free, has also launched a series of initiatives including observing a dry day for tobacco on the last day of every month. The government has also banned the sale, purchase and storage of chewable tobacco products, but has not been able to implement it because some court cases filed by tobacco manufacturers are still pending.

According to the National Cancer Registry Programme, India records 1,300 cancer deaths daily and close to 5 lakh every year. Tobacco use alone accounts for around 40% of all cancers, 90% of oral cancers and 30% of tuberculosis cases in India.