As part of its efforts to bring tobacco consumption to zero by 2040, the government has drafted a policy to inspire tobacco farmers to go for alternatives crops.
The National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently drafted the “Health Improvement Surcharge Management Policy, 2016”, which will be placed before the cabinet for approval this month.
The policy’s objective is to plan and take up tobacco-control programmes and prevent all sorts of non-communicable diseases relating to tobacco, including cancer, tuberculosis and lung diseases.
Every year, more than 92,100 people in Bangladesh are killed by tobacco-caused diseases, while over 1.64 lakh children and 2.55 crore adults continue to use tobacco each day, according to Tobacco Atlas, a database of World Lung Foundation.
The World Health Organization says Bangladesh is a high-risk country that can see substantial deaths throughout the 21st century due to tobacco consumption.
Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, coordinator of NTCC, said the cell may work with Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and Bangladesh Bank on ways to provide incentives to the farmers to check tobacco cultivation.
The land on which tobacco is being cultivated can be used to produce other crops like maize, nuts and vegetables. Tobacco plants are grown mostly in Rangpur, Kushtia and Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Authorities can provide low-interest loans and new technologies to the farmers and facilitate marketing of the produce, Quddus said.
Currently, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) receives a surcharge on the prices of locally produced and imported tobacco products, following the passage of a finance bill two years ago.
More than Tk 500 crore has been collected as surcharge since July 1, 2014 and the annual earning is Tk 200-250 crore, health ministry officials said.
Once the policy is approved, the NTCC, which is run by limited funding from The Union, an international aid agency headquartered in France, will get the money.
Using the fund, the NTCC will strengthen its staffing and take up activities in district and upazila levels to contain the production and supply of tobacco.
“Controlling the supply of tobacco is an important factor. Our farmers grow tobacco plants as they find it financially more beneficial,” said Quddus.
The area where tobacco plants are cultivated was about 70,000 hectares in 2012-2013, which rose to 108,000 hectares in 2013-2014, according to the DAE.
DAE Director General Hamidur Rahman, however, says the acreage declined to 49,240 hectares in 2014-15, 41,793 hectares in 2015-16 and 39,235 hectares in 2016-17.
However, production of tobacco, like that of other crops, has been increasing as farmers now use hybrid or high-yielding varieties. In the current season, tobacco cultivation is projected to be one lakh tonnes, he said, but could not give figures of previous years.
According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2009, 4.13 crore adults in Bangladesh consume tobacco, while 4.3 crore others are affected by indirect smoking.
The government passed the finance bill on surcharge two years ago, but the fund mobilised so far has remained unutilised amid absence of a policy.
So, the NTCC drafted the “Health Improvement Surcharge Management Policy, 2016”.
The policy has a provision for constituting a committee headed by the health minister and representatives from the ministries of health, finance, public administration, home, education, agriculture, commerce, and NBR and non-government organisations.
Apart from managing the surcharge, the committee will find other sources of finance for tobacco control and involve other ministries in the project. The NTCC will act as the coordinator.
“For example, the education ministry can instruct all the educational institutions to make their campuses tobacco free and hold anti-tobacco debate, essay writing competitions or seminars,” Quddus said.
“We want to focus mainly on the preventive actions,” he added.
ABM Zubair, executive director of anti-tobacco campaigner PROGGA, said Bangladesh has anti-tobacco law, but its enforcement has been poor. Besides, there has been no initiative so far to cut tobacco supply.
“Therefore, the fund being mobilised would be used to reduce tobacco supply, enforce laws and create awareness,” he added.
Author: Porimol Palma
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