World no tobacco day: Amend law for stronger tobacco control

Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum yesterday said the government spends far more on healthcare than the revenue it earns from tobacco companies.

"If we can prevent the use of tobacco products, we won't have to spend so much on treating tobacco-related diseases such as cancer. If we want to focus on disease prevention, we must build a tobacco-free Bangladesh," she said.

She was speaking at a discussion at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital, marking World No Tobacco Day, according to a press release of the ministry.

The National Tobacco Control Cell organised the programme, with this year's theme being: "Unmasking the appeal: Exposing industry tactics on tobacco and nicotine products."

The health adviser said although Bangladesh has signed the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, government officials still hold positions on the boards of tobacco companies "to ensure their businesses run smoothly."

"This contradiction is completely unacceptable. We must speak out clearly about this. If we cannot speak now, we may never be able to," she said.

The health adviser added, "They [tobacco companies] exploit our labourers and poison our soil, air, and environment -- we can never accept this."

To effectively enforce the tobacco control act, it must be amended, and work is already underway in this regard, she said.

Tobacco companies are targeting teenagers and the youth in various ways and are creating numerous obstacles, she said, adding, "We must overcome these challenges together."

Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter said although the import of e-cigarettes is banned, tobacco companies are trying to produce them domestically.

She said workers in their factories are being exploited.

If we can prevent the use of tobacco products, we won't have to spend so much on treating tobacco-related diseases such as cancer. If we want to focus on disease prevention, we must build a tobacco-free Bangladesh.

— Nurjahan Begum, Health Adviser

"They try to portray as if the Bangladesh government runs on money from tobacco companies -- this is false. Our government runs on the people's money," she said.

Tobacco is mostly cultivated on fertile lands by rivers, which not only harms agricultural production but also reduces fish reproduction, she said.

It is also having negative health impacts on children, adolescents, and women, she added.

Prof Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser for the health ministry, said tobacco companies conduct research to create and expand their market.

Although students are the main targets of these companies, it is unfortunate that textbooks contain nothing about the harms of tobacco.

With Health Services Division Secretary Saidur Rahman in the chair, the programme was also addressed by Railways Secretary Fahimul Islam, Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services Prof Abu Zafar, Deputy Representative of the WHO Country Office in Bangladesh Rajesh Narwal, and National Tobacco Control Cell Programme Director Sheikh Momena Moni.