PHOTO : Courtesy
Tobacco is a deadly product. According to the Tobacco Atlas 2018, 161,000 people lose their lives in Bangladesh every year due to tobacco-related diseases, while medical expenses are also increasing enormously. According to the World Health Organization, Bangladesh has not yet achieved the desired standards to ensure a smoke-free environment, even though Bangladesh is the first signatory of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (2017), about 37.8 million adults in the country use tobacco. On the other hand, 38.4 million people are exposed to secondhand smoke even if they do not smoke, which poses serious health risks to them as well.
Tobacco use increases the risk of various complex diseases, including heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, cancer, and kidney disease. In particular, women and children are being severely affected by secondhand smoke. In pregnant women, it increases the risk of premature abortion, premature birth, low birth weight, birth complications, and stillbirth.
In recent times, e-cigarettes have been posing a major health risk to young people worldwide. Flavored e-cigarettes attract young people, which increases the tendency to start smoking. The Bangladesh government has already banned the import of e-cigarettes. We also urge for a complete ban on the import, production, and marketing of e-cigarettes.
In this situation, to protect public health, the Ministry of Health has proposed six important amendments to the Tobacco Control Act, which need to be passed quickly. The proposed amendments are:
1. Banning designated smoking areas in all public places and public transport.
2. Banning the display of tobacco products at points of sale.
3. Completely banning corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs of tobacco companies.
4. Increasing the size of pictorial health warnings on tobacco product packets from 50% to 90%.
5. Banning the single stick sale of bidi-cigarettes, wrapper-free, and open smokeless tobacco products.
6. Banning all emerging tobacco and nicotine products, including e-cigarettes.
The current Tobacco Control Act has several loopholes that allow tobacco companies to target young and vulnerable populations. If these amendments are not implemented quickly, the rate of tobacco-related diseases and deaths will increase further, putting a severe strain on the national health system.
Therefore, in the interest of public health, the Tobacco Control Act must be amended and implemented now, without delay. Only through a strict legal framework and its effective implementation will it be possible to make Bangladesh tobacco-free.
Writer: Student of BUBT and Youth advocate of Nari Maitree
Messenger/Tushar
