Activists of some NGOs yesterday demanded necessary measures to review the Tobacco Control Act 2005 for its proper implementation and to ban tobacco cultivation in farmlands.
They said people do not get the fruit of the act because of its loopholes. The act should be reviewed immediately for its proper implementation and thereby control the widespread use of tobacco and to ensure public health safety, they added.
They placed the demands at a human chain jointly organised by Work for Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust, Prottasha, Manobik, Alliance for Cooperation and Legal Aid Bangladesh (ACLAB) and National Anti-Tuberculosis Association of Bangladesh (Natab) in front of the National Press Club in the city yesterday.
They also blamed the tobacco companies for circulating their advertisements strategically, encouraging people to smoke.
Their other demands are inclusion of the definition of jarda (tobacco leaf), sada pata (tobacco leaf), gul (grains of tobacco) and other types of tobacco products in the act, attachment of cautionary message covering at least 50 percent space of the packet, declaring workplaces, offices in the private sector, restaurants and barber shops as public places and imposing health tax on the tobacco companies.
WBB Trust National Advocacy Officer Syeda Anonna Rahman, ACLAB Project Co-ordinator Emdadul Haque, Sirak Bangladesh Executive Director SM Saikat, among others, spoke at the function.