Anti-tobacco campaigners at a policy dialogue yesterday reiterated their calls for stopping any sorts of promotional campaign of tobacco products as companies are always taking new strategies with very innovative ways to increase sales of their products.
As part of massive promotional campaign, tobacco companies are violating laws rampantly to expand their market volume, they told the dialogue on “Death marketing strategy of Tobacco Companies: Law violation: Our doings in protecting public health” at the Jatiya Press Club here.
PROGGA, an non-government organization and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) jointly organized the dialogue.
Lawmakers Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Dr Habibe Millat, Abul Kalam Md Ahsanul Haque Chowdhury, Md Nabi Newaz and, technical officer of World Health Organization(WHO) Dr Mahfuzul Haque, country director of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids(CTFK) Taifur Rahman, leaders and members of the ATMA, among others, addressed the dialogue.
About the promotional activities of tobacco companies, Dr Mahfuzul said displaying of cigarette packets at the showcase of shops or point of sales is a clear violation of law as the tobacco law (amended) has banned all forms of advertisements and promotional activities.
Tobacco companies are avoiding direct advertisement and promotional practices due to the restriction of tobacco control law, he added.
They are adopting creative promotional tactics by taking advantages of different loopholes of law and lack of its proper enforcement.
Taifur said, display of attractive leaflets of cigarettes at sales points and tea stalls is one of the latest tactics of tobacco companies, he said adding the tobacco control law does not allow such types of advertisement campaign.
Tobacco companies are carrying out promotional campaigns violating the law, he added.
As per the amended tobacco control law, any person found carrying out promotional campaign on tobacco and tobacco products will face three months jail term or a fine (maximum) of Taka one lakh or both punishments. In case of repeating the violation of the law, punishment will be doubled.According to a study in 2004 conducted by WHO, each year tobacco kills six million people worldwide and the death toll is likely to reach eight million a year if the current trend continues.
In Bangladesh, at least 57 thousand people die each year from eight tobacco related diseases. The rate of tobacco use in Bangladesh is one of the highest in the world. More than 43 percent of the adult population use tobacco in any form.
The anti-tobacco campaigners called upon the government to enforce the anti-tobacco law strictly to stop all forms of promotional campaign on tobacco and tobacco products aiming to protect the people from its harmful effects.
