Record label, Rufftown Records and Artistes Manager, Ricky Nana Agyemang alias Bullet, has described the decision of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) banning Ghanaian celebrities from promoting alcoholic products as ‘senseless.’
Recall that, the FDA barred Ghanaian celebrities from advertising alcoholic brands to ensure children were not influenced by celebrities into thinking that alcohol is good.
Following this, Mark Darlington Osae, an artiste manager of Reggie ‘N’ Bollie and Skrewfaze, took the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General, to court over the ban on celebrities from promoting alcoholic drinks.
Mr. Mark Darlington issued a writ of summon in November 2022, saying the FDA guidelines in 2015 are biased against the creative art industry.
Speaking after the court proceedings, Bullet said the directive from the Food And Drug Authority banning celebrities from advertising in alcoholic products as one that “doesn’t make sense”.
According to him, he sees the decision by FDA as discrimination to the celebrities. He explained that celebrities are also Ghanaians and they also need to survive, therefore the FDA can’t issue a law to prohibit celebrities from advertising alcoholic products while exempting an ordinary Ghanaian.
Bullet added that, celebrities can influence children from consuming alcoholic same as they promote them.
Bullet lamented that the ban has affected their activities in the sense that they no longer get alcoholic companies to sponsor their programmes.
“I think this is not fair, I see it as discrimination, we are Ghanaians and everyone is supposed to eat, celebrities are Ghanaians. So you can not sit in your office and come out with a law that will stop a Ghanaian from eating. We don’t even get alcoholic companies to sponsor our programmes,” he said.
Artistes manager Bullet has said the directive from the Food And Drug Authority banning celebrities from advertising in alcoholic products as one that “doesn’t make sense”.#GHOneNews pic.twitter.com/Jj2BGAxPW8
— GHOne TV (@GHOneTV) November 15, 2023
Meanwhile, Wendy Shay, Kuame Eugene, Brother Sammy, Shatta Wale, Camidoh and other top celebrities have clearly kicked against the law and sought for the FDA’s guidelines to be revoked before the suit.
