VOICE organized a workshop with Law Reporters Forum -

VOICE organized a workshop with Law Reporters Forum

Voices for Interactive Choice & Empowerment (VOICE) in collaboration with Law Reporters Forum (LRF) organized an orientation workshop to orient LRF member journalists on the necessity of the amendment of existing Tobacco Control and Usage Act (2005; amended 2013) to safeguard the public health and enormous level of economic loss due to health and tobacco related burden. The purpose of the orientation workshop was to sensitize the journalists that as active journalist forum LRF members can do more reporting/special stories/OP-Eds etc. for wide media visibility on the issue of Tobacco control law amendment to influence and shape policy makers and public’s perception to uphold the mandate of honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s directive to make Bangladesh Tobacco free by 2040.

The workshop titled “The Necessity of Tobacco Control Law Amendment to Safeguard the Public Health” was held in Nasrul Hamid auditorium of Dhaka Reporter’s Unity on 16 June 2021. Honorable Information and Broadcasting minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud MP was present in the workshop as Chief Guest. In his speech the minister stated “Impetuous action is required from journalists and anti-tobacco campaigners to make Bangladesh tobacco free by 2040”.

Executive director of VOICE Ahmed Swapan Mahmud moderated the event; the keynote was presented by Zayed Siddiki, Project coordinator of VOICE. As distinguished panelist Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, Editor-in-Chief of TV today; President of Dhaka Reporter’s Unity Mursalin Nomani; Professor Sohel Reza Chowdhury, Head of Epidemiology and Research, National Heart Foundation; Hasan Shahriar, head of Tobacco Control Program of Progga; Abdus Salam Miah, Grants Manager, CTFK Bangladesh and Mostafizur Rahman, Lead Policy Advisor of CTFK Bangladesh spoke in the workshop. At the end of the program the Minister distributed workshop participation certificates to the journalists and Law Reporters Forum gave a declaration to work on tobacco control law amendment in collaboration with VOICE.