Ehsanul Haque Jasim :
The colour and design of the cigarette packets and packets of other tobacco products are going to be changed from next week, as the deadline for starting the display is March 19. The tobacco companies will have to insert pictorial warning signs on their products by this time, said officials of the Health Ministry.
The anti-tobacco campaigners and the heath activists want proper implementation of the ‘Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act 2015’ so that the tobacco companies insert pictorial warnings on tobacco packets properly as per the law.
Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, a Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry and the coordinator of the National Tobacco Control Cell, said that the ministry is
determined to implement the mandatory statutory warning on all tobacco packs from March 19.
“We have already selected the pictorial warnings and sent these to the tobacco companies that will be introduced on tobacco products. These companies are required to have them printed from March 19,” he said.
He also said it is mandatory to insert pictorial warnings on the packets of all kinds of tobacco products, including bidi, cigarette, gul and jarda.
Currently, the multinational tobacco companies and local tobacco factories enjoy plain packaging of tobacco products in Bangladesh, which is not found in any developed country.
The Smoking and Usage of Tobacco Products (Control) Act says that the tobacco factories and companies will have to insert pictorial warning signs on their tobacco products by March 19 to make people aware of adverse impacts of tobacco on human health. The pictorial health warning must be put on at least 50 per cent area of packets, which will allow smokers understand health risks as well as a discouragement for non-smokers.
According to the anti-tobacco activists, since there are a number of people who cannot read or understand the messages given by tobacco companies, the literal warning is not working effectively. So, the pictorial warnings will help them to understand its adverse impacts.
Meanwhile, the tobacco companies tried to delay the display by creating snags at the Health Ministry. They wrote to the Health Ministry to make changes in the provision. Instead of printing the images on the upper part of the pack as stipulated in the provision, tobacco companies want to print the warning pictures in the lower part of the pack where they attract less attention.
According to available data, about 95,000 people die in Bangladesh each year while there are 1.2 million cases of tobacco-attributable illness every year. Bangladesh is among the top 10 countries of the world, which use tobacco products for reasons like overpopulation, lower income and poverty.
Canada first introduced pictorial health warnings on tobacco packs in 2001. In Nepal, tobacco companies have to cover 90 percent of the packs with graphic warnings, while in India they will have to use 85 percent of the package surface from April onwards. Pakistan has also decided to implement graphical warnings covering 70 percent of the packs.
The colour and design of the cigarette packets and packets of other tobacco products are going to be changed from next week, as the deadline for starting the display is March 19. The tobacco companies will have to insert pictorial warning signs on their products by this time, said officials of the Health Ministry.
The anti-tobacco campaigners and the heath activists want proper implementation of the ‘Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act 2015’ so that the tobacco companies insert pictorial warnings on tobacco packets properly as per the law.
Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, a Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry and the coordinator of the National Tobacco Control Cell, said that the ministry is
determined to implement the mandatory statutory warning on all tobacco packs from March 19.
“We have already selected the pictorial warnings and sent these to the tobacco companies that will be introduced on tobacco products. These companies are required to have them printed from March 19,” he said.
He also said it is mandatory to insert pictorial warnings on the packets of all kinds of tobacco products, including bidi, cigarette, gul and jarda.
Currently, the multinational tobacco companies and local tobacco factories enjoy plain packaging of tobacco products in Bangladesh, which is not found in any developed country.
The Smoking and Usage of Tobacco Products (Control) Act says that the tobacco factories and companies will have to insert pictorial warning signs on their tobacco products by March 19 to make people aware of adverse impacts of tobacco on human health. The pictorial health warning must be put on at least 50 per cent area of packets, which will allow smokers understand health risks as well as a discouragement for non-smokers.
According to the anti-tobacco activists, since there are a number of people who cannot read or understand the messages given by tobacco companies, the literal warning is not working effectively. So, the pictorial warnings will help them to understand its adverse impacts.
Meanwhile, the tobacco companies tried to delay the display by creating snags at the Health Ministry. They wrote to the Health Ministry to make changes in the provision. Instead of printing the images on the upper part of the pack as stipulated in the provision, tobacco companies want to print the warning pictures in the lower part of the pack where they attract less attention.
According to available data, about 95,000 people die in Bangladesh each year while there are 1.2 million cases of tobacco-attributable illness every year. Bangladesh is among the top 10 countries of the world, which use tobacco products for reasons like overpopulation, lower income and poverty.
Canada first introduced pictorial health warnings on tobacco packs in 2001. In Nepal, tobacco companies have to cover 90 percent of the packs with graphic warnings, while in India they will have to use 85 percent of the package surface from April onwards. Pakistan has also decided to implement graphical warnings covering 70 percent of the packs.
