Dhaka: A delegation from research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) held a meeting with Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin at his office at Bangladesh Secretariat today. During the meeting, the delegation emphasized the need for stringent anti-tobacco laws to safeguard non-smokers from the hazards of passive smoking.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the PROGGA-ATMA delegation informed the Commerce Adviser about the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s initiative to eliminate designated smoking areas (DSAs) through legislative amendments. They highlighted that achieving a 100% smoke-free environment is impossible if DSAs continue to exist. Cigarette smoke from these areas often leaks, exposing non-smokers, including women and children, to secondhand smoke. Hospitality workers also suffer from passive smoking while providing services in these environments.
PROGGA-ATMA further informed that Bangladesh has the highest tobacco use prevalence among South Asian countries, with a rate of 35.3%, compared to 28.6% in India and 19.1% in Pakistan. Tobacco-related deaths and diseases pose significant challenges to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all. In Bangladesh, tobacco claims nearly 161,000 lives annually, and the financial loss from tobacco-related deaths and diseases surpasses the revenue generated by the tobacco sector.
The delegation included Mortuza Haider Liton, ATMA convener; Nadira Kiron, co-convener of ATMA; Md. Shafiqul Islam, Business In-charge of Bangla Tribune; ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA; and Md. Hasan Shahriar, head of Programmes at PROGGA.