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Press Release
Surrogate Advertising needs to be curbed, feel professionals
Chandigarh, August 11:
Surrogate advertising is corrupting the impressionable young minds in the
country which needs to be restricted, felt the professionals at the panel
discussion held at Chandigarh Press Club here today.
Major panelists included Pallav Mukherjee, Municipal Councillor, Hemant
Goswami, President of Burning Brain Society, Manmohan Singh Kohli, CEO of
Hotel Aroma and President, Tourism Promotion Society of Chandigarh; Capt (retd)
Balwant Gurunay, a management trainer, and Renuka Salwan, chairperson of
PRSI Chandigarh, amongst others.
The discussions were organised by the Chandigarh Chapter of Public Relations
Society of India, which resolved to submit a memorandum to the President and
Prime Minister of India, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the
Advertising Standards Council of India, Press Council of India, and the
Advertising Agencies Association of India.
The speakers pointed out that 57 percent of the population of India is under
25 years of age which is most impressionable and the liquor and cigarette
manufacturers in the country where resorting to irresponsible advertising to
influence young brains, that is contributing to the increased consumption of
liquor in the country.
Hemant Goswami of Burning Brain Society underlined the need to de-glamorise
the consumption of liquor and tobacco in the country by putting a ban on
surrogate advertising. He said that people in their productive-40s were
dying because of consumption of alcohol and tobacco and extensive surrogate
advertising was even involving children towards consumption of tobacco.
Pallav Mukherjee pointed out the inadequacies of the system to curb
surrogate advertising and asked for people’s participation in bringing about
the positive change in the society. “We as citizens abdicate our
responsibilities and do not care for the happenings around us”, he lamented.
The government lacks the will to enforce the laws effectively since
surrogate advertising is already banned under various laws and regulations,
said Man Mohan Singh. He suggested the need for everyone to contribute just
1 percent additional tax which would conveniently offset all the revenue
loss of the government from excise on alcohol, and would also contribute to
better health and lifestyle of its citizens.
Senior journalist Gobind Thukral asked the media to be responsible and stop
publishing such advertising and refuse the bashes thrown by the liquor
companies, which were receiving better coverage than the developmental
stories in the newspapers.
A tv journalist Jagmohan Phutela, said that the filing of PILs in the High
Court is the only solution to control the blatant use of such advertising,
referring to the recent action of Punjab & Haryana High Court which issued
notices to the Union Ministry of I&B and a clutch of liquor companies on a
PIL which has requested the High Court to restrain these companies from
promoting their products, directly or through surrogate means
The spirit of the Constitution of India as enshrined in Article 47, which
clearly defines the state’s responsibility to restrict the consumption of
intoxicating drinks and drugs stands totally defeated.
The participants clearly expressed the mandate for the government to
effectively execute the code of conduct to prevent irresponsible advertising
on every media, as well as underlined the need for the corporates to look at
the ethical implication of their practices that are in vogue to circumvent
the law. |
11
August 2007
Siti Cable: News 8pm
12 August 2007
Siti Cable: News 8am
13 August 2007
Doordarshan: News 5:40pm
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For More Information Contact:
419, Sector 15A, Chandigarh 160 015 India
Email:
info@prsi.in;
renuka@bis.org.in |
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