ABM Zubair
As the world convenes in Geneva from 17 to 22 November 2025 for COP 11 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), Bangladesh has a critical stake- not only in safeguarding public health, but in advancing environmental protection and strengthening governance. The issues on this year’s agenda are far more than technical: they strike at the heart of our ongoing struggle with tobacco addiction, tobacco’s impact on the environment and industry interference.
At the core of COP 11 discussions is the rising tide of nicotine addiction, particularly among youth. The WHO FCTC Secretariat notes that the “broad availability and marketing of e-cigarettes and other nicotine products will be the subject of a ministerial roundtable.” For Bangladesh, where roughly 35 percent of adults use tobacco and approximately 161,000 lives are lost annually to tobacco-related diseases, this is no peripheral threat. Adding to the concern, advocacy groups such as PROGGA and the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) have raised alarms over Philip Morris’s plan to establish a nicotine pouch factory in Bangladesh, which they argue violates directives from the Chief Advisor’s Office (CAO).
We must ask: are we truly protecting our youth? Nicotine products, slickly marketed as “safer” alternatives, can become gateways for addiction or reinforce dependency. The urgency to regulate them cannot be ignored. COP 11 provides a critical global stage for countries to commit to evidence-based policies, and Bangladesh must seize this moment to put public health over industry spin. The government’s proposed amendment to the tobacco control law, which includes outright bans on e-cigarettes, vaping, and nicotine products, is a bold step in the right direction. If passed, it would not only protect young people but also elevate Bangladesh’s leadership in global tobacco control.
Beyond addiction, this COP spotlights a dimension often overlooked in Bangladesh’s tobacco debate: the environmental toll of tobacco. The WHO FCTC Secretariat rightly flags that the tobacco supply chain, cultivation, manufacturing, consumption and waste, leaves a deep environmental footprint. In particular, plastic cigarette filters are now recognised as a leading single source of litter that breaks down into microplastics.
In Bangladesh, tobacco cultivation consumes land and water, drives deforestation, and exposes farm workers, including children, to harmful chemicals. As COP 11 debates stronger producer liability and environmental safeguards, Bangladesh should push for accountability not only for health harms but also for ecological damage. As a WHO FCTC signatory, the country has already taken steps under Article 18, categorising cigarette filters and thin plastic covers as single-use plastics (SUPs) and launching a government-wide SUP phase-out starting with the Bangladesh Secretariat from October 2025. These measures demonstrate that environmental responsibility and tobacco control can go hand in hand.
Yet, for all the promise of COP 11, one specter looms large: tobacco industry interference. Even as proponents of regulation face opposition, the WHO FCTC Secretariat has warned Parties to remain vigilant against lobbying efforts aimed at weakening strong measures. In Bangladesh, this concern is not hypothetical. The 2025 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index placed the country at the bottom of the South Asian region with a score of 69, underscoring a persistent failure to safeguard public policy from industry influence and highlighting Bangladesh’s limited progress in implementing Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, which requires governments to protect health policies from tobacco industry tactics.
COP 11 must not only produce ambitious policy decisions, but also reinforce the norms that keep industry influence at bay. Article 5.3, which protects public health policymaking from vested commercial interests, must remain sacrosanct. If Bangladesh dilutes its commitment now, the ripple effects will reach far beyond our borders, it will weaken the global momentum for a tobacco-free future.
Another critical strand of COP 11’s agenda is liability: how to hold tobacco companies accountable for the social, health, and environmental costs of their products. An expert group report on liability is set to be discussed. For Bangladesh, this is a moment to advocate for robust mechanisms under Article 19 of the WHO FCTC- mechanisms that could drive compensation or enforce polluters-pay frameworks. Such mechanisms would help recover some of the billions in public health and environmental damage linked to tobacco.
As Bangladesh engages in COP 11, it must do so with clarity and courage. The country should stand shoulder to shoulder with other Parties calling for stronger regulations on nicotine and greater accountability for environmental harm.
COP 11 is more than a diplomatic gathering- it is a crossroads. Will we reaffirm our commitment to public health and environmental justice, or will industry interests undermine progress? For Bangladesh, the stakes could not be higher. The decisions made in Geneva this week will shape not just national policies but the global trajectory toward a healthier, cleaner, and more equitable future.
As our government participates in COP 11, civil society, policymakers, and health advocates must hold it accountable. We owe it to our youth, our economy, and our environment to make this COP a turning point- not just in rhetoric, but in real, enforceable action.
The writer is the Executive Director of PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress)
