Amend Tobacco Control Act

Health and Family Welfare Secretary Shaikh Altaf Ali speaks at a workshop titled 'Tobacco Control Act and what is to be done by us' at the Dhaka Ahsania Mission Bhaban auditorium at Dhanmondi in the city yesterday. Mission President Kazi Rafiqul Alam, second from left, and Barrister Tania Ameer, second from right, were also present.

Speakers at different programmes yesterday demanded amendment of the Tobacco Control Act.
Govt will amend the tobacco control law after discussing with all concerned, Health and Family Welfare Secretary Shaikh Altaf Ali said yesterday.
He was addressing a workshop titled 'Tobacco Control Act and what is to be done by us' as the chief guest at the Dhaka Ahsania Mission Bhaban auditorium at Dhanmondi in the city, says a press release.
He said that the leaders in every sector have to give up smoking to create awareness. The media will have to play a significant role, too.
He hoped that the lawmakers would take necessary steps to this end.
Mission President Kazi Rafiqul Alam said a six-member committee has been formed with Barrister Tania Ameer as convener for amending the Tobacco Control Act.
According to the health ministry, approximately 57000 people die annually and 3 lakh 82000 become physically handicapped as a consequence of tobacco use.
Tobacco is cultivated annually in an area of 25970 hectares in the country, which earns Tk 2400 crore against the expenditure of Tk 5000 crore.
This means the country incurs a loss of Tk 2600 crore annually, with which a lot of development works would have been possible.
Barrister Tania Ameer said the law should be strengthened in such a way so that the tobacco companies cannot take advantage of the loopholes.
WHO Technical Officer Irshad Chowdhury was the keynote speaker at the workshop while Mission Executive Director M Ehsanur Rahman, Hunger Free World Country Director Ataur Rahman Milton and the Union Technical Consultant Dr Md Akramul Islam also spoke.

WBB Trust
Meanwhile, WBB Trust organised a discussion demanding the same yesterday.
The speakers at the discussion stressed the need for strengthening specific areas of the law and its effective enforcement, says a press release.
Fining tobacco companies only Tk 1000 for violating the law is not enough to act as a deterrent, they added.
Law amendment is also a binding requirement under the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, of which Bangladesh is a party, as the current law does not yet match even the minimum provisions of the treaty.
They also stressed the need for pictorial warnings since the rate of illiteracy is very high in the country and graphic warnings get more attention than plain words.
Abu Naser Khan, Chairman of Save the Environment Movement, Dr Akramul Islam, consultant of International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Helal Ahmed, secretary general of Pratyasha Anti-Drug Organisation, Kazi Enayet Hossain, executive director (ED) of SCOPE, Barrister Sanjana Mithi, Advocate Mozammel Hossain, chairman of SHAWBHUMI, also spoke at the discussion presided over by Saifuddin Ahmed, ED of WBB Trust.
Syed Mahbubul Alam, programme manager of WBB Trust, presented the keynote while representatives of many other organisations, including RISDA, MANOBIC, Unnayan Shamunnay, EVDA, and SEFA were present.