Dhaka: Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter today emphasized that tobacco companies should have no involvement in amending the Tobacco Control Law. ‘The government will never take such an anti-public interest step. Manipulations by tobacco companies have already delayed the amendment, and no further delay is acceptable. Just as the youth of Bangladesh once drove fascism out of the country, they must now lead the way in eradicating tobacco,’ she stated.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Farida Akhter made these remarks during a discussion titled ‘Ensuring Public Health Protection by Passing the Proposed Amendments to the Tobacco Control Law without Delay.’ The event was organized by Rural Poor-DORP at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital. AHM Noman, founder and chief executive of DORP, delivered the welcome address, while Zeba Afroza, the organization’s project coordinator, presented the keynote paper. The paper outlined six proposals in alignment with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
The proposals included eliminating designated smoking areas in public places and transport, banning tobacco product displays at points of sale, prohibiting corporate social responsibility activities by tobacco companies, restricting e-cigarettes to protect youth, ending loose and retail sales of tobacco products, and expanding pictorial health warnings on packaging from 50 percent to 90 percent.
Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Director General of the National Tobacco Control Cell, addressed the gathering as a special guest, highlighting the toll of tobacco consumption, which claims 161,000 lives annually in Bangladesh, with an average of 442 deaths daily. He dismissed tobacco companies’ claims that the proposed amendments would result in significant revenue losses. He noted that government revenue from tobacco increased 12.5 times in 18 years since the law’s enactment in 2005 and its amendment in 2013, even as tobacco use declined by 18 percent between 2009 and 2017.
Professor Dr. Golam Mohiuddin Faruq, President of the Bangladesh Cancer Society, criticized a review committee’s decision to involve tobacco industry representatives in stakeholder discussions, expressing concerns about potential conflicts of interest.