Experts and anti-tobacco advocates have called for strengthening tobacco control legislation to help Bangladesh achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
In a recent virtual discussion, speakers highlighted the barriers created by tobacco in achieving the SDGs.
Knowledge for Progress or PROGGS and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance or ATMA organized the event in association with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK).
According to one of the speakers, tobacco directly threatens efforts to achieve SDG-3, good health and well-being, by claiming nearly 161,000 lives and hundreds of thousands of disabilities each year in Bangladesh.
According to the World Health Organization, in households with tobacco users, 5 percent of total monthly expenditure goes to tobacco use and about 10 percent to treatment of tobacco-related diseases.
The discussants welcomed the recent initiative of the Ministry of Health to amend the Tobacco Control Law to facilitate the creation of a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040, announced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
They urged the authorities to finalize the draft at the earliest and “not to succumb to the wrong tactics of tobacco companies”, according to a statement by the organisers.
Economist and convenor of the National Anti-Tobacco Platform Dr Qazi Kholikuzzaman Ahmed said: “It must be ensured that companies cannot interfere in the amendment process.”
Md Mustafizur Rahman, CTFK Bangladesh’s chief policy advisor, said, “Tobacco companies have no opportunity to argue against the harm their products cause to public health. So they are trying to obstruct the amendment and mislead the policy makers by spreading baseless and false information about massive layoffs, loss of government revenue.”
Mohammad Abdul Majeed, Former Chairman, National Board of Revenue, Nizam Uddin Ahmed, Executive Director Shahastho Surokkha Foundation, Convenor ATMA Murtuza Haider Liton also participated in the discussion. ATMA co-convenor Nadira Kiron hosted the event. Hasan Shahriar, MD, Head of Tobacco Control at PROGGA presented the keynote address. ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA was also present.