Dhaka: Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akther today highlighted that the financial burden of medical expenses due to tobacco consumption surpasses the revenue collected from tobacco sales. Speaking at a seminar titled "Obstacles and Actions to Implement Tobacco Tax Policy to Protect Public Health," she emphasized the pressing issue of the economic impact of tobacco on public health.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the seminar was organized by the Bureau of Economic Research of Dhaka University in collaboration with the Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP) and took place at the CIRDAP auditorium. Farida Akther pointed out the detrimental effects of tobacco cultivation on the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. She noted that tobacco is often grown along riverbanks, particularly the Halda and Teesta, leading to the death of fish due to pesticide and fertilizer use.
Farida also challenged the tobacco companies' assertion that 1.5 million people are involved in the tobacco industry, suggesting that a significant portion of these workers are child laborers. She called for a closer examination of the actual number of people engaged in tobacco production and sales.
The seminar featured several key speakers, including Mohammad Alim Akhter Khan, director general of the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection, who attended as a special guest, and BNTTP technical committee member Md Shafiqul Islam, who chaired the event. Other notable attendees included Mir Alamgir Hossain and Apurba Kimar Mandal, joint secretaries of the Railway and Industries ministries, respectively, as well as Advocate Syed Mahbubul Alam from the BNTTP technical committee.
Prominent figures such as Bangladesh Cancer Society chairman Professor Dr. Golam Mohiuddin Faruque, National Board of Revenue second secretary Md Badruzzaman Munsi, and Tobacco Free Kids lead policy adviser Md Mustafizur Rahman also participated. Md Akhtaruz-Zaman, director general of the National Tobacco Control Cell, was among the attendees, along with journalist Sushanto Sinha, who presented the keynote paper.