Most tobacco companies don't comply fully: Survey

More than 92 percent of tobacco producers do not fully comply with the government rules of printing Graphical Health Warning (GHW) on tobacco packets or containers, according to a non-government survey.

This non-compliance is a major barrier in achieving the government's goals of building public awareness against tobacco use, said the study.

Six anti-tobacco campaigners conducted the survey in November last year. The findings were shared at a press conference at the capital's Jatiya Press Club yesterday.

The organisations are Progga, National Heart Foundation, Association for Community Develop-ment, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Shimantik, and Ipsha.

The survey was conducted at 120 tobacco-selling shops in eight divisional cities from November 16 to 23 last year.

The indicators include printing GHW on at least 50 percent of the packets or containers; printing GHW on both sides of the packets or containers; printing only government approved image and message as GHW; updating the GHW image every three months; following government approved ratio in printing GHW image and warning texts and others.

It was found that over 92 percent of tobacco producers do not comply with all the indicators in picturing GHW; rather they partially follow the rules.

Besides, 19.2 percent of tobacco products do not have any GHW on the packets or containers, said Hasan Shariar, an official of Progga, while presenting the findings.

The study recommended strict monitoring, law enforcement and mobile court drives to implement the rules.

Addressing the function, National Professor Brig Gen (retd) Abdul Malek, also founder of National Heart Foundation, stressed the need for launching a social movement to control tobacco use.

Coordinator of National Tobacco Control Cell Muhammad Ruhul Quddus said the government was planning to formulate a policy for discouraging tobacco cultivation in farmlands.

The authorities concerned are conducting mobile court drives on a regular basis to enforce the rules that make mandatory the picturing of GHW on tobacco packets or containers, he claimed.

Syed Mahbubul Alam, a technical adviser of international anti-tobacco organisation The Union, demanded government directives on producers for mentioning the date of production on tobacco packets and containers.

He also demanded a government ban on selling single cigarettes so that every buyer has to buy at least one packet at a time. If implemented, it would discourage smoking, he said.