Speakers comprising health experts and physicians yesterday called for stringent control on use of tobacco products in order to combat the alarming rise of non-communicable diseases.

A growing number of NCDs, including cardiac complications, cancer and diabetes, have been linked to consumption of tobacco products, they said at a workshop   titled, "Empowering Young Physicians for Tobacco Control in Bangladesh", organised by the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute.

Prof Khandaker Abdul Awal Rizvi, president of the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh, presided over the event.

Prof Fazila-Tun-Nessa Malik, the foundation's general secretary, urged young physicians to play a proactive role in educating the public about harmful effects of tobacco and advocating for tobacco control measures.

In the keynote speech, Prof Sohel Reza Choudhury, head of the foundation's Epidemiology and Research Department, warned about the growing influence of tobacco companies promoting e-cigarettes, particularly targeting the youth through misleading marketing strategies, and demanded a complete ban on all forms of e-cigarettes.

Prof Safiun Nahin Shimul of the Institute of Health Economics at Dhaka University, recommended for a drastic increase in cigarette prices, coupled with effective taxation.

Doctors attending the workshop made four key recommendations for controlling tobacco use: increasing taxes on tobacco products, strengthening existing tobacco control laws, halting tobacco companies' advertising campaigns, and instituting a nationwide ban on e-cigarettes and vapes.

Md Ataur Rahman Masud and Md Mostafizur Rahman, advocacy manager and lead policy advisor respectively of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Bangladesh, and Sharf Uddin Ahmed Choudhury, advisor to the NHFB's Tobacco Control Programme, also spoke among others.