The Minister of Health and Family Welfare Zahid Maleque, MP has given his assurance to amend the tobacco control law aiming at reducing tobacco use in the country. With the existing loopholes in the current tobacco control law, achieving a tobacco free Bangladesh within 2040 as declared by the Prime Minister will be hampered. Delegates from research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and the Anti Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) met the Health Minister today on 04 January stressing the necessity of tobacco control law amendment and way forward in this regard. The minister said during the meeting, “The Ministry of Health is working tediously to fulfill the declaration of the Prime Minister to build a tobacco free Bangladesh by 2040. In order to achieve the Prime Minister’s commitment, stringent regulations will be imposed gradually to reduce tobacco use. Earlier, there was no use of graphic health warnings on packages of tobacco products; but it has already been introduced through an amendment. Moreover, previously people used to smoke in public places as well as in passenger planes. It has also been incorporated under regulations through laws. The current law is being amended to make it more updated and time- fitting.” He assured that the proposals placed by PROGGA and ATMA will be taken into account seriously during the process of amendment.
During the meeting, PROGGA and ATMA placed in front of the Health Minister some proposals for amendment in tobacco control law which included 1. Remove the provision of “designated smoking zone” and ban smoking in all public places, work spaces, and public transports to ensure an absolute tobacco free environment; 2. Ban the display of tobacco products at points of sale; 3. Ban ‘corporate social responsibility’ activities of tobacco companies; 4. Ban the sale of single sticks and unpackaged smokeless tobacco; 5. Ban the sale and import of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products; 6. Allow for stricter rules on packaging including increases to the size of graphic health warnings; etc. and was requested to incorporate these in the law amendment. Notably, in 2016 the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her pledge to amend the tobacco control law in the light of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) with the vision of a tobacco free Bangladesh.
At the discussion meeting with the Health Minister today, the participants included eminent journalist Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul; Convener of ATMA Mortuza Haidar Liton; Co-convener of ATMA Mizan Chowdhury; Business In-Charge of Bangla Tribune Md. Shafiqul Islam; and Head of Tobacco Control Program from PROGGA Md. Hasan Shahriar.
