Pressure must continue to amend tobacco law: Planning Minister

In Bangladesh, 35.3% of adults use some form of tobacco. Due to tobacco-related diseases, 1 lakh 61 thousand people died every year. Realizing the awfulness of tobacco, the Prime Minister has announced to make the country tobacco-free by 2040. To achieve that, Planning Minister M.A Mannan MP has suggested that pressure be exerted on all parties to amend the Smoking and Tobacco Use (Control) Act to implement that goal and protect the health of future generations.

The Minister was addressing in a national seminar on ‘Tobacco Control Law Amendment for Making Bangladesh Tobacco-Free by 2040’ organized by ‘Bangladesh Parliamentary Forum for Health and Wellbeing’ at CIRDAP on Thursday, March 3. The seminar was presided over by the chairman of the forum prof. Dr. Md. Habibe Millat MP and former health minister Prof. Dr. A.F.M Ruhal Haque presented as chief guest.

The Planning Minister said, ‘The Prime Minister has announced to make Bangladesh tobacco-free by 2040; we will help him. It is possible to achieve. Our PM is with us. So, we have to work for tobacco control. Continuous pressure must be maintained at all levels to amend the Tobacco Control Act. We have to move forward with the people. We have to implement the declaration of the Prime Minister.

The special guest A.F.M Ruhal Haque Said, ‘You are aware of secondhand smoking. Multiple people affect by one smoker. Especially young people and women are facing more problems. We have to implement 90% health warning on the packet of tobacco products. We have all told the Hon’ble Health Minister that we are working against tobacco. Besides that, I would like to tell the Minister of Planning that it is important to ban e-cigarettes in our country as well. We all agree with this.

Other members of parliament agreed to amend the Tobacco Control law and build a social movement for tobacco control, as well as to conduct anti-tobacco activities in their respective areas.

Before that, Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary MP focused important side of the tobacco law amendment through his presentation.

Six issues he mentioned to be incorporated in the amended law. Those are,  abolition of all ‘Designated Smoking Areas (DSA)’ including public places, public transport, banning the display of tobacco products at the point of sale, banning all tobacco company sponsorships and their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, illustrated health warnings on wraps of tobacco products to be increased more than 90%, ban on selling of retail and the small number of cigarettes or bidis and ban on the sale and imports of all types of heated tobacco including e-cigarettes. His presentation also cites successful examples of international tobacco control.

In another presentation, the harmful effects of tobacco and the issue of amending the tobacco law to protect public health was highlighted by the executive director of the Health Protection Foundation, the secretariat of the forum Dr. Nizam Uddin Ahmed.

Chairman of BHFHW Prof. Dr. Md. Habibe Millat MP highlighted a number of successes of the forum in tobacco control. Among them are letters from 153 MPs to the Prime Minister demanding a ban on e-cigarettes, letters from 152 MPs to the Health Minister demanding amendments to the Tobacco Law is mentionable.

In the seminar Dr. Shamil Uddin Shimul MP, Adv. Syeda Rubina Aktar MP, Aparajita Haque MP, Shabnam Jahan MP, Umme Fatema Nazma Begum MP also took part as discusser.  Along with them coordinator of NTCC Hosain Ali Khondokar, delegates from ministries, anti-tobacco organizations, and numbers of NGOs and CSOs presented.