The effort of the author in raising this concern is highly appreciable.

The law came into effect this year but the UK private sector had introduced it much earlier. In the late eighties, British Airways first introduced a ban on in-flight smoking in all its domestic services which was subsequently extended to the international sector.

Possibly, that played a major role in raising public awareness against smoking.

This ban on smoking in enclosed areas in effect saves the non-smoker from passive smoking, which is no less harmful than direct smoking.

In Bangladesh, the private sector can play a leading role in banning smoking in their respective places. For example, a factory owner can strictly prohibit smoking in his/her 'factory'. Private university authorities can prohibit smoking in their campus buildings.

Similarly, hospitals, shopping malls, restaurants etc can follow suit.

If all these private sector organisations play an active role in banning smoking, then the government can finally enact and implement an anti-tobacco law more effectively.

The Bangladeshi law titled "Smoking and Tobacco Usage (Control) Act", (enacted in 2005) which prohibits publication of advertisements of tobacco products in newspapers, electronic media, books, magazines and cinema can be more effectively implemented.

And after that parliament can enact sterner laws, banning smoking in all enclosed public places.

This would greatly help our national economy and save the non-smokers from all those smoking-related health hazards.

Hopefully, the smokers would realise the ill effects of smoking and quit it.