Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter has stated that tobacco companies cannot, in any way, be stakeholders in the amendment of the tobacco control law. The government will also not be involved in any such action that goes against public interest under any circumstances.
She said, if we truly want to consider the well-being of the country’s people, tobacco must be stopped.
The adviser made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a discussion titled “Quick Passage of the Proposed Amendments to the Tobacco Control Law for Protecting Public Health”, organised by the Development Organization of the Rural Poor at the CIRDAP auditorium on Wednesday.
Farida Akhter, a member of the advisory council committee aimed at revising the draft of the “Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024”, said that although the existing “Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2005” in the country was later amended in 2013, six important recommendations have been prepared to ensure effective control. She further said that it is essential to make public places completely smoke-free. No provision for designating separate areas for smoking will be allowed – this matter has been included in the amendment.
The Fisheries and Livestock adviser said that the amendment of the tobacco control law has been delayed for a long time due to various deceptive tactics by tobacco companies. “No matter how powerful tobacco companies are, they have no moral strength. Therefore, no matter how much they try, they will not succeed,” she said.
Regarding e-cigarettes, she said the government has agreed from the beginning to ban their import. At the same time, she said that the harmful aspects of tobacco products must be displayed in visible places on the packet. She mentioned that indirect smoking is just as harmful as direct smoking.
Appealing to the youth, she said, “If you become aware, you will not only refrain from smoking yourselves but will also be able to prevent others from this habit. Merely making laws is not enough; the youth must be vocal in implementing the tobacco control law.” She called upon the young generation to come forward in the movement to build a tobacco-free and healthy Bangladesh.
The meeting presented six important proposals from the amendments to the draft prepared by the healthcare department, aligned with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The key proposals include: prohibiting designated smoking areas or smoking zones in public places, completely banning the display and advertisement of all types of tobacco products, protecting young men and women from the harmful effects of e-cigarettes, stopping the retail sale of single sticks of bidis/cigarettes, prohibiting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities of tobacco companies, and increasing the pictorial health warnings on tobacco product packaging to 90%.
Among those who spoke as special guests were former secretary Munshi Alauddin Al Azad, member of the National Independent Investigation Commission; Md Akhtaruzzaman, director general of the National Tobacco Control Cell; Professor Dr. Golam Mohiuddin Faruq, president of Bangladesh Cancer Society; and youth anti-tobacco representatives Ayesha Akhtar Shilpi and Naimur Rahman Emon, among others.
The welcome speech at the seminar was delivered by AHM Noman, Founder and Chief Executive of DORP, and the keynote paper was presented by Zeba Afroz, Project Coordinator of DORP.
