Smoking is injurious to 'Right to life'

Once famous American author Mark twin says 'giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world I know because I have done it thousand times'. We never know whether he actually quit smoking. Smoking is one of the impending bad habits that are destroying our society. It not only unlock the door to different other unsocial and illegal activities but also leads our young generation to violate our social norms and customs.

GATS' (Global Adult Tobacco Survey) latest survey on Bangladesh on December 22, 2010 shows that 41.3 million adults are current tobacco users (43.3 percent of the total population). 7 in 10 current smokers plan to or are thinking about quitting and 47.3 percent made an attempt to quit in the last 12 months. 74 percent of current smokers thought about quitting because of warning labels. 11.5 million Workers (63 percent of workers) are exposed to tobacco smoke at the workplace. 45 percent of adults are exposed to tobacco smoke in public places.

Now, what should be done to control the use of tobacco? It would be wrong to say that the framing of strict laws would be the solution, since we already have sufficient laws regarding this, except few flaws on them. We have Railways Act, 1890 that prohibits any passenger from smoking in any compartment of a train. Then we had The Juvenile Smoking Act, 1919 before it was repealed by the latest Smoking and using of tobacco products (control) amendment Act 2013. Now The Smoking and Using of Tobacco Products (Control) Act, 2005 (Act No. XI of 2005) is the principal law governing tobacco control in Bangladesh. It has been amended recently in 2013 which tries to alleviate some loopholes of the original one.

Defining 'public place' under section 2(f) by recent amendment of 2013 is wide enough to include educational institution, government office, semi government office, private office, non-government office, library ,lift, indoor workplace, hospital, clinic area, court room, airport, shipyard, train station, bus terminal, cinema hall, demonstration palace, theater hall,  shopping complex, restaurant, public toilet, child recreation park, fair, public transport ,line for standing of passengers of public transport, or any places specifically mentioned to be 'smoking free area' by concerned and appropriate authority.

At the same time section 4 prescribes the punishment 300 taka fine for smoking in public place which was 50 taka only before the amendment, not only this but also it prescribes double punishment for repetition  of the same offence. Section 5 prohibits any advertisements, sponsorship in the name of corporate social responsibility, award, lottery, which is any way connected to tobacco or tobacco products patronization and promotion. Section 6 prohibits placing automatic vending machine for selling tobacco products. Selling tobacco or tobacco products to or appointing for selling such products by Person fewer than 18 years old is strictly prohibited under section 6(A);  Besides these this Act also prescribes provision for demonstrating caution-notice like 'smoking is prohibited in this palace, it is punishable offence'.  Besides theses The new law: Requires graphic warning labels covering 50 percent of the front and back of tobacco packaging. It Bans the use of misleading descriptors such as “light,” “low tar,” “mild” and “ultra light”. It also strengthens enforcement mechanisms by prescribing the appropriate authority and their power and duty. Any magistrate can try offence under this Act and any offence under this Act shall be cognizable and bail able.

It is unfortunate to articulate that the said Act still indirectly permits smoking and even in the public place. Still section 7 and Rule 4 of the Rules of 2006 deal with smoking zone. Sub Rule 3 and 4 of Rules 4 permit smoking even in public places, which will definitely cause and will encourage second hand smoking and ultimately lead the people towards smoking passively.

This is like your are enacting a law for controlling tobacco on the other hand by prescribing smoking area you are abetting it. This double standard is destructive for the proper enforcement of the Act. As preamble says 'where as it is necessary to  enact a law  for controlling smoking and tobacco products as it is harmful for human health' but on the other hand  under section 7 you keep something which will surely cause harm to human health which  consequently  kills the true spirit of the Act.  Moreover this is Act remains silent about second hand smoking and rather encourages it.  According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organisation, secondhand smoke is classified as a “known human carcinogen” (cancer-causing agent) that leads the nonsmoker to death.

These loopholes totally contravene the guidelines of 'Framework Convention on Tobacco Control' (FCTC) to which Bangladesh is a state party. The FCTC is a legally binding treaty that provides a broad framework of obligations and rights to Parties and promised to control tobacco and tobacco products to protect present and future generations.

Hence, smoking clearly violates citizens' right to life as guaranteed under the constitution. According to GATS statistics (16 Jan 2013) more than 57000 people is killed by tobacco in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is therefore has constitutional obligation to ensure smoking free society.

Shekh Md. Muhibbullah
Student of LLM
University of Dhaka.