— Hasan Mahmud :
Staff Reporter
Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Wednesday said, we have to build a smoking and drug free society if we want to build a healthy society.
The government has taken various steps to control the use of tobacco in the country and we need more social initiatives to decrease its use in a desired level.
Hasan Mahmud said this while addressing as a chief guest in a workshop arranged by VOICE, a right based research and advocacy organization, with the members of Law Reporters’ Forum (LRF), an organization of the journalists working for the legal affairs issues.
The workshop titled ‘The necessity of tobacco law amendment to safeguard public health’ was held in the Nasrul Hamid Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the capital city.
Executive Director of VOICE Ahmed Swapan Mahmud moderated the event. Editor in Chief of TV Today Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, President of Dhaka Reporters Unity Mursalin Nomani, Head of Epidemiology and Research Department of the National Heart Foundation Professor Sohel Reza Chowdhury, Head of Tobacco Control Program of Progga Hasan Shahriar and Law Reporters Forum’s President Masudul Hoque, among others, were present in the workshop.
VOICE and Law Reporters’ Forum declared to work together for the amendment of the tobacco law. In the program, panelists said that though per capita income of people has increased in the last decade in our country, the prices of tobacco has not increased. The difficulties of curbing the consumption are attributed to the availability of the product. In this context tobacco law amendment can ensure an important role in reducing tobacco consumption.
Project Coordinator of VOICE Zayed Siddiki presented the keynote paper. Bangladesh is one of the countries with highest rate of tobacco consumption of 35.3 percent of said the keynote paper. According to Global Tobacco Atlas, 2020, around one lakh 61 thousand people lost their lives on account of tobacco in the previous year.
Doctor Sohel Reza said, “People in early age are having heart attacks in our country and 41 percent happens due to the consumption of tobacco. If we fail to amend the laws and reduce tobacco consumption, we will not be able to provide a healthy world to the next generation”
Grants Manager of CTFK Bangladesh Abdus Salam Miah said there are some loopholes in the existing law, such as allowing designated smoking area in public places, restaurants and public transports that are not confined within four walls. The law does not specify anything about product display in point of sales (POS) and allows corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of tobacco companies.
He said the law also allows sell of loose cigarettes, and the size of health warning on tobacco packet is not fixed, which fails to abstain young smoker from smoking.
