Gulam Rabbani :
Reduction of tobacco use through the enactment and enforcement of strict tobacco control laws is a globally recognized approach. A strong tobacco control law can protect the people from the health risks, economic and environmental harms caused by tobacco in a country by reducing the use of tobacco.
Bangladesh was the first country to sign the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2003. In the light of the FCTC, Bangladesh enacted a law calling ‘Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2005’.
In 2013, the law was amended to make it up-to-date. Smoking had been banned in public places and on public transports through the amendments. Advertising of tobacco products is prohibited and punishment for violating the law is tightened in the amended law.
Due to various measures, including the amendment of the concerned law, taken by the government to control tobacco, the use of tobacco in Bangladesh has been reduced at a significant rate as compared with the past years.
According to the ‘Global Adult Tobacco Survey’ conducted in Bangladesh in 2009, the tobacco usage rate among the adults was 43.3 percent in Bangladesh, which had come down to 35.3 percent in the 2017 survey. Undoubtedly, this is a significant achievement of the amended law and various measures taken by the government.
The Tobacco Control Act in Bangladesh was amended about nine years ago and its benefits were seen in a survey conducted in 2017,
which showed that tobacco use had been reduced significantly compared to 2009. In order to maintain this reducing continuity and to achieve the target of building a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040, a target of the present government, now it is perfect time to make the existing law more up-to-date.
Activists and organizations working with tobacco issues say Sections 4 and 7 of the existing law should be abolished. Taking advantage of these two sections, all public places and public transports are allotting ‘designated smoking area (DSA)’, which should be banned. Taking the advantage of these sections, the tobacco companies are setting up smoking zones in various restaurants at their own finance.
The rights activists say law should be amended prohibiting display of tobacco products at the points of sale of tobacco products. Any kind of corporate social responsibility (CSR) program by tobacco companies should be totally banned by amendment.
But taking the advantage of the Sections 5(1)(Chha) and 5(3) of the existing law, the tobacco companies are displaying their products at the points of sale and they are taking part in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs by which the companies are basically promoting their products.
At least 62 countries around the world have banned tobacco companies in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.
Section 10(1) of the existing law asks the companies to illustrate health warnings minimum 50 percent area of a packet of the tobacco products. But the activists demand it to increase the size up to 90 percent area. Health warnings are in 90 percent area of the tobacco packets in Maldives, 85 percent in India and 80 percent in Sri Lanka.
Sale of bidis or cigarette butts unpacked and open smokeless tobacco products have not been banned in the existing law. The anti-tobacco activists demand to prohibit them through amending the existing law. They also demand to ban all emerging tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
A notable anti-tobacco activist Professor Dr Arup Ratan Choudhury, “There is no clear instruction in the existing law to control the use of smokeless tobacco like Zarda, Gul and Sada Pata. Although health warning signs have been illustrated in the 50 percent area of the cigarette packets, it is not being imposed in the box of smokeless tobacco products yet. It is a matter of worry.”
The Professor also said, “Due to huge use of smokeless tobacco products, many people are being crippled, immature babies are being born, and people are suffering from heart attack. The use of non-smoking tobacco is increasing day by day. As a result, the rate of oral cancer in women has also been increased. The use of warning signs in smokeless tobacco products should be imposed.”
“Apart from this, many tobacco companies have government shares. These have to be withdrawn, if not, how do you control it?” questioned Professor Arup.
Iqbal Masud, Director of the Health Sector at Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM), said, “Undoubtedly it was a good law for the perspective of 2005 when it was enacted. The law was amended in 2013. But some weak points have been traced in implementing the amended law. We have to overcome those gaps.”
He said, “A new drafting has been finalized in order to bring some amendments in the law. The drafting has already been placed in the Health Ministry’s website for receiving public opinion. We have total six recommendations in the new draft, including banning designated smoking area, sale of single stick and CSR program by the tobacco companies. We hope if the amendments are okayed finally, tobacco control activities will gain momentum.”
