Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
We agree with the views of the anti- tobacco activists that tobacco companies and shop keepers should not be allowed to do any advertisement making sign and symbols for tobacco and promotion of tobacco products. We know using tobacco in film, TV and drama are banned, but in this case rules and regulations are grossly violated that ‘tobacco companies are violating tobacco control law illegally doing advertisement promoting addiction and smoking.’ They think that punishment should be given to those tobacco companies who encourage smoking and tobacco consumption through sponsorship of tobacco.
One in every 10 cigarettes, and many other tobacco products, consumed worldwide are illegal, making the illicit trade of tobacco products a major global concern from many perspectives, including health, legal, economic, governance and corruption. The tobacco industry and criminal groups are among those who profit from the illegal tobacco trade, leaving the public to pay the health and security costs. Ratification by governments of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is necessary to respond to the financial, legal and health impacts of the illicit trade of tobacco products.
The public, academia and other sectors can take action by urging their lawmakers to make their countries Parties to the Protocol. Eliminating the illicit trade in tobacco would generate an annual tax windfall of US$ 31 billion for governments, improve public health, help cut crime and curb an important revenue source for the tobacco industry.
On the World No Tobacco Day on May 31, WHO calls Member States to sign the ‘Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products’ (WHO May 31, 2015).In many of its WNTD themes and related publicity-materials, the WHO emphasizes the idea of ‘truth.’ Theme titles such as ‘Tobacco kills, don’t be duped’ (2000) and ‘Tobacco: deadly in any form or disguise’ (2006) indicate a WHO belief that individuals may be misled or confused about the true nature of tobacco; the rationale for the 2000 and 2008 WNTD themes identify the marketing strategies and ‘illusions’ created by the tobacco industry as a primary source of this confusion.
The WHO’s WNTD materials present an alternate understanding of the ‘facts’ as seen from a global public health perspective. WNTD publicity materials provide an ‘official’ interpretation of the most up-to-date tobacco-related research and statistics and provide a common ground from which to formulate anti-tobacco arguments around the world.
Groups around the world – from local clubs to city councils to national governments – are encouraged by the WHO to organise events each year to help communities celebrate World No Tobacco Day in their own way at the local level. However, cigarettes are available here as there is no ban on their marketing and selling.
There is a statutory warning on every cigarette packet like ‘smoking is injurious to health.’ Despite this warning there is no reduction on the use of cigarettes and tobacco.
More or less every smoker smokes a lot without trying to foresee its damaging consequences. Among them the chain smokers care little about health problems. Previously advertisements of smoking appearing on TV and in newspapers encouraged people in smoking. Now any advertisement in connection with tobacco is illegal in Bangladesh.There are allegations that that tobacco companies are violating tobacco control law and illegally doing advertisements, which are promoting addiction and smoking. They think that punishment should be given to those tobacco companies who encourage smoking and tobacco consumption through sponsorship of tobacco.
Although most of us are aware of the health dangers associated with smoking, millions of us still light up cigarettes. This is unfortunate because smoking puts you at risk of developing illnesses such as lung cancer, chronic lung diseases and even heart disease.
Research shows that cigarettes will kill half of those who smoke. Tobacco contains nicotine, a highly addictive drug that you start to crave when you are without it. This is what makes it very difficult to give up. Your body and brain soon starts to need nicotine in order to feel good, resulting in addiction.
We cannot feel the suffering of the oral patients better than sufferers themselves. After realising severity of the ill-effects of tobacco, some of these patients have turned into anti-tobacco crusaders pleading for giving up addiction.
In Bangladesh, some professionals, medical practitioners and health officers carry forward anti-tobacco campaigns. They are trying to make it clear that how smoking ruins a person and leads him to death. Cigarette smokes harm even non-smokers when s/he comes in touch with any smoker. Some national NGOs are trying to give anti-tobacco advocacy through project interventions.
The change catalysts work with a missionary zeal to purge society from the evils of intoxication and addiction. They approach the project beneficiaries with motivation techniques. Sometimes they organise movements with mass signature collection.
Effective mass media campaigns are a key part of any tobacco control intervention. Mass media campaigns are critical as they can create population-wide changes in knowledge about tobacco and attitudes toward tobacco use. Only legislative intervention for controlling smoking is not enough. The government ought to ensure strict implementation of smoking and tobacco product control act. Implementation measures may well be undertaken for creating smoking-free public places, transports, meetings and gatherings.
All advertisements for tobacco products should be stopped. Any act of violation must be liable to prosecution. Cigarettes are available as there is no ban on their marketing and selling. Although most of us are aware of the health dangers associated with smoking, millions of South Africans still light up. This is unfortunate because smoking puts you at risk of developing illnesses such as lung cancer, chronic lung diseases and heart disease.
Research shows that cigarettes will kill half of those who smoke. Tobacco contains nicotine, a highly addictive drug that you start to crave when you are without it. This is what makes it so difficult to give up. Your body and brain soon starts to need nicotine in order to feel good, resulting in addiction.
We cannot feel the suffering of the oral patients better than sufferers themselves. After realising severity of the ill effects of tobacco, some of these patients have turned into anti-tobacco crusaders pleading for giving up addiction. They may happen to prevent others, especially the younger generation, from taking to tobacco use. ‘Besides these addicts turned crusaders, there are those running anti-tobacco campaign because they are either closely related to cancer victims or who have suffered cancer despite never having consumed tobacco.’
No smoking day is observed around the world every year on May 31. It is intended to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption around the globe. The day is further intended to draw attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects which currently lead to nearly 6 million deaths each year worldwide, including 600,000 of which are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. The member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day in 1987. In the past 20 years, the day has been met with both enthusiasm and resistance around
‘The World No Tobacco Day-2017 is being observed in the country today with a call for the government to adopt effective tobacco control initiatives and implement them on a priority basis.Tobacco is a big threat to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, a pledge made by the government, said a statement of Progga, an anti-tobacco advocacy organisation.”But if the international treaty, WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC), is effectively implemented, SDGs will be achieved within the deadline through eliminating tobacco-related obstacles,” it said.But tobacco companies would always remain active so that the FCTC issue should not get into the government’s priority list, it added.
The anti-tobacco platforms should continuously work to bring the FCTC implementation issue on the national priority list and formulate a national tobacco control programme and assist the government in its implementation, the Progga said.The goal of the platform is to reduce the damage caused by tobacco use to a desired level by 2030′
Inevitably, the anti-tobacco movement will face unpredictable challenges and move in unanticipated ways. As new crusades , such as the appropriateness of harm reduction strategies, replace the past emphasis on enacting clean indoor air and youth tobacco laws, core values and goals need to guide the movement to avoid costly fragmentation. Strengthening the social movement that lies at the heart of the tobacco control movement is essential. Using human rights rhetoric is one strategy that can provide momentum and a sense of purpose to the movement.
A strong social movement is imperative to resist or prevent erosion in the salience of tobacco control (that is, to prevent relapse) and to provide the political and economic support to achieve future goals.
We agree with the views of the anti- tobacco activists that tobacco companies and shop keepers should not be allowed to do any advertisement making sign and symbols for tobacco and promotion of tobacco products. We know using tobacco in film, TV and drama are banned, but in this case rules and regulations are grossly violated that ‘tobacco companies are violating tobacco control law illegally doing advertisement promoting addiction and smoking.’ They think that punishment should be given to those tobacco companies who encourage smoking and tobacco consumption through sponsorship of tobacco.
One in every 10 cigarettes, and many other tobacco products, consumed worldwide are illegal, making the illicit trade of tobacco products a major global concern from many perspectives, including health, legal, economic, governance and corruption. The tobacco industry and criminal groups are among those who profit from the illegal tobacco trade, leaving the public to pay the health and security costs. Ratification by governments of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is necessary to respond to the financial, legal and health impacts of the illicit trade of tobacco products.
The public, academia and other sectors can take action by urging their lawmakers to make their countries Parties to the Protocol. Eliminating the illicit trade in tobacco would generate an annual tax windfall of US$ 31 billion for governments, improve public health, help cut crime and curb an important revenue source for the tobacco industry.
On the World No Tobacco Day on May 31, WHO calls Member States to sign the ‘Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products’ (WHO May 31, 2015).In many of its WNTD themes and related publicity-materials, the WHO emphasizes the idea of ‘truth.’ Theme titles such as ‘Tobacco kills, don’t be duped’ (2000) and ‘Tobacco: deadly in any form or disguise’ (2006) indicate a WHO belief that individuals may be misled or confused about the true nature of tobacco; the rationale for the 2000 and 2008 WNTD themes identify the marketing strategies and ‘illusions’ created by the tobacco industry as a primary source of this confusion.
The WHO’s WNTD materials present an alternate understanding of the ‘facts’ as seen from a global public health perspective. WNTD publicity materials provide an ‘official’ interpretation of the most up-to-date tobacco-related research and statistics and provide a common ground from which to formulate anti-tobacco arguments around the world.
Groups around the world – from local clubs to city councils to national governments – are encouraged by the WHO to organise events each year to help communities celebrate World No Tobacco Day in their own way at the local level. However, cigarettes are available here as there is no ban on their marketing and selling.
There is a statutory warning on every cigarette packet like ‘smoking is injurious to health.’ Despite this warning there is no reduction on the use of cigarettes and tobacco.
More or less every smoker smokes a lot without trying to foresee its damaging consequences. Among them the chain smokers care little about health problems. Previously advertisements of smoking appearing on TV and in newspapers encouraged people in smoking. Now any advertisement in connection with tobacco is illegal in Bangladesh.There are allegations that that tobacco companies are violating tobacco control law and illegally doing advertisements, which are promoting addiction and smoking. They think that punishment should be given to those tobacco companies who encourage smoking and tobacco consumption through sponsorship of tobacco.
Although most of us are aware of the health dangers associated with smoking, millions of us still light up cigarettes. This is unfortunate because smoking puts you at risk of developing illnesses such as lung cancer, chronic lung diseases and even heart disease.
Research shows that cigarettes will kill half of those who smoke. Tobacco contains nicotine, a highly addictive drug that you start to crave when you are without it. This is what makes it very difficult to give up. Your body and brain soon starts to need nicotine in order to feel good, resulting in addiction.
We cannot feel the suffering of the oral patients better than sufferers themselves. After realising severity of the ill-effects of tobacco, some of these patients have turned into anti-tobacco crusaders pleading for giving up addiction.
In Bangladesh, some professionals, medical practitioners and health officers carry forward anti-tobacco campaigns. They are trying to make it clear that how smoking ruins a person and leads him to death. Cigarette smokes harm even non-smokers when s/he comes in touch with any smoker. Some national NGOs are trying to give anti-tobacco advocacy through project interventions.
The change catalysts work with a missionary zeal to purge society from the evils of intoxication and addiction. They approach the project beneficiaries with motivation techniques. Sometimes they organise movements with mass signature collection.
Effective mass media campaigns are a key part of any tobacco control intervention. Mass media campaigns are critical as they can create population-wide changes in knowledge about tobacco and attitudes toward tobacco use. Only legislative intervention for controlling smoking is not enough. The government ought to ensure strict implementation of smoking and tobacco product control act. Implementation measures may well be undertaken for creating smoking-free public places, transports, meetings and gatherings.
All advertisements for tobacco products should be stopped. Any act of violation must be liable to prosecution. Cigarettes are available as there is no ban on their marketing and selling. Although most of us are aware of the health dangers associated with smoking, millions of South Africans still light up. This is unfortunate because smoking puts you at risk of developing illnesses such as lung cancer, chronic lung diseases and heart disease.
Research shows that cigarettes will kill half of those who smoke. Tobacco contains nicotine, a highly addictive drug that you start to crave when you are without it. This is what makes it so difficult to give up. Your body and brain soon starts to need nicotine in order to feel good, resulting in addiction.
We cannot feel the suffering of the oral patients better than sufferers themselves. After realising severity of the ill effects of tobacco, some of these patients have turned into anti-tobacco crusaders pleading for giving up addiction. They may happen to prevent others, especially the younger generation, from taking to tobacco use. ‘Besides these addicts turned crusaders, there are those running anti-tobacco campaign because they are either closely related to cancer victims or who have suffered cancer despite never having consumed tobacco.’
No smoking day is observed around the world every year on May 31. It is intended to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption around the globe. The day is further intended to draw attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects which currently lead to nearly 6 million deaths each year worldwide, including 600,000 of which are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. The member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day in 1987. In the past 20 years, the day has been met with both enthusiasm and resistance around
‘The World No Tobacco Day-2017 is being observed in the country today with a call for the government to adopt effective tobacco control initiatives and implement them on a priority basis.Tobacco is a big threat to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, a pledge made by the government, said a statement of Progga, an anti-tobacco advocacy organisation.”But if the international treaty, WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC), is effectively implemented, SDGs will be achieved within the deadline through eliminating tobacco-related obstacles,” it said.But tobacco companies would always remain active so that the FCTC issue should not get into the government’s priority list, it added.
The anti-tobacco platforms should continuously work to bring the FCTC implementation issue on the national priority list and formulate a national tobacco control programme and assist the government in its implementation, the Progga said.The goal of the platform is to reduce the damage caused by tobacco use to a desired level by 2030′
Inevitably, the anti-tobacco movement will face unpredictable challenges and move in unanticipated ways. As new crusades , such as the appropriateness of harm reduction strategies, replace the past emphasis on enacting clean indoor air and youth tobacco laws, core values and goals need to guide the movement to avoid costly fragmentation. Strengthening the social movement that lies at the heart of the tobacco control movement is essential. Using human rights rhetoric is one strategy that can provide momentum and a sense of purpose to the movement.
A strong social movement is imperative to resist or prevent erosion in the salience of tobacco control (that is, to prevent relapse) and to provide the political and economic support to achieve future goals.
(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, Department of Public Administration, Chittagong University)
