MUMBAI: India's contribution to the attempt of Facebook landing in trouble comes in the form of a legal notice issued by Hemant Goswami, a social activist and crusader for public health causes.

Apparently, Facebook revokes its policy of not advertising tobacco products. The social networking website allows the various brands and tobacco products to be promoted through member pages and groups. These are visible on all computers, and all terminals installed in India through which the site Facebook.com is accessed.

His statement published in a press release says, Facebook allows promotion of smoking culture through advertisements. We have sent a copy of links of such examples which are considered an offence under the Indian law to M/s Facebook.
 
Failure of the social networking website Facebook to remove pages and groups relating to various tobacco products, brands and articles is now likely to land the company in legal trouble, it adds.

The Indian law on tobacco control, Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 mentions imprisonment for up to five years for violating the provisions relating to prohibition of promotion or advertisement of tobacco products and brands.

Article 14 of FCTC, the treaty signed and ratified by 156 countries, calls for complete prohibition of cross border advertisement or promotion of tobacco products and makes it obligatory on all 156 countries which have ratified the treaty to enforce the laws.

Goswami says, We are very serious in our pursuit to end this kind of promotion of tobacco brands and tobacco products on social networking site like Facebook. To achieve this we will do everything possible.