Anti-tobacco activists on Wednesday laid emphasis on creating social awareness for strict enforcement of the amended Tobacco Control Act (TCA) to save thousands of nonsmokers from indirect smoking annually.
As the anti-tobacco campaign is carried out at a considerable scale, tobacco companies are changing strategies to hinder success in the policy- making process by inspiring farmers in tobacco cultivation offering them lucrative profits, they said.
The opinion came at an advocacy meeting jointly organised by District Tobacco Control Law Enforcement Task-force Committee (DTCLETC) and Association for Community Development (ACD) at conference room of the Deputy Commissioner in Lalmonirhat district town.
With member-secretary of DTCLETC and Civil Surgeon of Lalmonirhat Dr Md Kashem Ali in the chair, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) of Lalmonirhat Rezaul Alam Sarker attended the meeting as the chief guest.
President of Lalmonirhat unit of Bangladesh Medical Association Dr Ahsan Ali, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension Bibhubhushan Roy, District Education Officer Azizul Islam, journalist Shafikul Islam Kanu, spoke on the occasion.
Project Coordinator of ACD Ehsanul Amin Emon narrated the present tobacco cultivation scenario, violation of amended TCA and health hazards of smoking in public places.
The chief guest called for creating public awareness to ensure strict enforcement of the tobacco control laws to save the nonsmokers from indirect smoking on way to building a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040 next.
