The Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Traders Association (Bendsta) Tuesday called on authorities to consult with all stakeholders before making any policy decisions on vaping.
The organisation also called for excluding vape and other electronic nicotine delivery systems from the proposed amendment of the Smoking and Tobacco Products Control Act 2005 (amended in 2013).
The proposed amendments called for a ban on vaping products.
Bendsta demanded that vaping be excluded from the proposed tobacco law draft amendment. It also urged the authorities to consult with the organisation before taking any policy decision, and develop new regulations by recognising vaping and other nicotine replacement therapies as credible quit-smoking tools.
Bendsta President Masud Uz Zaman said: "If any amendment is proposed regarding vaping, we are an important stakeholder. It is unreasonable to not take our opinion and completely exclude us from the law-making process."
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Referring to figures from the World Bank, Masud said: "Recognised as an effective quitting tool in developed nations, vaping has the potential to reduce smoking rates drastically. Given the circumstances, a vaping ban will eventually work against the prime minister's ambition of making Bangladesh tobacco-free by 2040."
"India and Thailand are often used as examples by anti-vape groups when it comes to banning vape. But even after the vaping ban in India, it has been seen that these products are still being sold illegally in cigarette shops and various online marketplaces. People who recently visited Thailand also reported that many people are still openly vaping in public."
The Bendsta president said While developed countries like the UK, New Zealand, Canada, Saudi Arabia and others are embracing vaping as a quitting tool, Bangladesh is on its way to banning it.
"Anti-tobacco NGOs are making inaccurate statements that are not backed up by any science and they are doing it only to receive financial grants from US donor organisations. Listening to these NGOs blindly will do more harm than good," he added.