Tobacco control laws need proper implementation
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2022
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Tobacco control laws need proper implementation

Health

Shahriar Islam Shovon
07 January, 2021, 06:50 pm
Last modified: 07 January, 2021, 07:10 pm

Related News

  • MPs demand rising tobacco taxes
  • Stronger tobacco control law for tobacco-free Bangladesh stressed
  • Amend laws for a tobacco-free Bangladesh
  • PROGGA calls for increasing price, tax on tobacco products
  • Proposed budget likely to increase tobacco consumption: Experts

Tobacco control laws need proper implementation

Although the tobacco control laws strictly mention do's and don'ts, consumers are reluctant to accept them

Shahriar Islam Shovon
07 January, 2021, 06:50 pm
Last modified: 07 January, 2021, 07:10 pm
It is important to ban the sale and import of all vaping and heated tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Photo: Salahuddin Ahmed
It is important to ban the sale and import of all vaping and heated tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Photo: Salahuddin Ahmed

Tobacco poses a serious threat to the public health and economy of Bangladesh. Smokers experience a variety of physical and emotional harms. Smoking for 14 minutes every day reduces life expectancy (WHO).

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 56,000 people die of tobacco-related diseases in Bangladesh every year. About four lakh people are crippled. In 2003, the Government of Bangladesh signed the FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control), an international treaty initiated by the World Health Organisation to reduce the prevalence of tobacco.

In compliance with the provisions of the agreement, the government later enacted the Tobacco Control Act in 2005. But due to some weaknesses, the Act could not play an effective role. Therefore, in May 2013, the Act got amended. The last Tobacco Control Rules 2015 were passed in the light of the amended law. The amended Act 2013 and Rules 2015 have made strict provisions to protect all smokers, including women and children, from secondhand smoke.

According to the section 4 under Tobacco Control Amendment Act 2013, smoking in public places and public transport has been completely banned. The amended law includes private offices in the definition of a public place and the penalty has been increased from Tk50 to Tk300.

Tobacco Control Amendment Act 2013 also includes the use of smoke-free products such as roses, Jorda, khaini and white leaves by sucking and chewing. The law was amended in parliament to increase the fines for smoking in public places by six times to Tk300, as well as to make mandatory the printing of health warnings with pictures on half the surface of the packet of tobacco products.

At the same time, a provision was made in the amended law to ban the advertisement of tobacco products and the sale of tobacco products to minors. Tobacco Control Amendment Act 2013 prohibits direct and indirect advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products. Violation of this provision is punishable by imprisonment for not more than three months or a fine not exceeding one lakh taka under section-5(4) of this Act. 

Although the Act strictly mentions do's and don'ts, the consumers are reluctant to accept it. Besides, many people have no idea about this Act. 

The media can do the job of making people aware of the law and rules. Also, dramatists and filmmakers can be a little more careful. Smoking scenes should not be shown. Young people can be affected by seeing cigarettes in the hands of the hero.

Although there is talk of a smoke-free environment, it is almost absent in reality. Women and children suffer the most because of this. There should be signboards marking such areas. Sometimes people ignore such signs. Supervision is very important in these cases.

The biggest opponents of tobacco control are tobacco companies. They pay people to grow tobacco. There are provisions in the Act to control them. These should be strictly enforced. Ministries need to work together to control smoking.

With the passing of the rules, it is very important for people at all levels to be aware of this issue, to facilitate the implementation of the law. It is important to ban the sale of bidi-cigarette spray and open smokeless tobacco products, to ban the sale and import of all vaping and heated tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and to increase the size of illustrated health warnings. It is possible to control this product which is harmful to health only through strict implementation of laws. But due to the negligence of those concerned, the Act has not been implemented yet.

Young people need to come forward to properly implement the tobacco control law and raise awareness. It is the duty of all of us to actively cooperate with the government in implementing this law to strengthen tobacco control activities in the country. We all have a role to play. Law enforcement agencies as well as parents need to be aware. In order to control tobacco, the family must first come forward to implement the law.

Bangladesh / Top News

Tobacco Control

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • No document needed to avail cash incentives for remittance over Tk5 lakh
    No document needed to avail cash incentives for remittance over Tk5 lakh
  • File photo of Square Pharma factory
    Square Pharma fire yet to come under control: Fire service
  • File Photo: State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid/UNB
    Russia has offered to sell crude oil to Bangladesh: Nasrul

MOST VIEWED

  • 2 deaths from Covid-19 reported in 24 hours
    2 deaths from Covid-19 reported in 24 hours
  • Photo: Courtesy
    Freedom vending machines helping women maintain menstrual health
  • Representational Image. Photo: World Health Organization
    75th World Health Assembly begins
  • A section of skin tissue, harvested from a lesion on the skin of a monkey, that had been infected with monkeypox virus, is seen at 50X magnification on day four of rash development in 1968. CDC/Handout via REUTERS
    Ports on alert for monkeypox
  • Zero death, 29 cases from Covid reported in 24 hours
    Zero death, 29 cases from Covid reported in 24 hours
  • The palms of a monkeypox case patient from Lodja, a city located within the Katako-Kombe Health Zone, are seen during a health investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. Brian W.J. Mahy/CDC/Handout via REUTERS
    Monkeypox: Symptoms and prevention

Related News

  • MPs demand rising tobacco taxes
  • Stronger tobacco control law for tobacco-free Bangladesh stressed
  • Amend laws for a tobacco-free Bangladesh
  • PROGGA calls for increasing price, tax on tobacco products
  • Proposed budget likely to increase tobacco consumption: Experts

Features

Musk is denying the sexual harassment allegation that surfaced this week. Photo: Bloomberg

Elon Musk’s crazily banal week 

2h | Panorama
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED: A touch of brilliance to your life

Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED: A touch of brilliance to your life

5h | Brands
Keep your phone by your side with this armband

Keep your phone by your side with this armband

3h | Brands
Are Focallure gel masks worth the hype?

Are Focallure gel masks worth the hype?

4h | Brands

More Videos from TBS

Photo: TBS

Can Sri Lanka bounce back?

6h | Videos
How to apply for a job at Oxfam

How to apply for a job at Oxfam

7h | Videos
Investors, public to suffer from electricity price hike

Investors, public to suffer from electricity price hike

19h | Videos
Health benefits of summer fruits

Health benefits of summer fruits

20h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire
Crime

PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire

4
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

5
BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies
Stocks

BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

6
The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter
Industry

The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab