Bangladesh Tobacco Control Advocates (BTCA) has urged government institutions, social, voluntary and environmental organisations not to accept trees, financial assistance, gifts, sponsorship or any other form of support from tobacco companies.
In a statement sent to the media on Tuesday, it said Bangladesh’s tobacco control law prohibits tobacco companies from conducting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities or supporting such activities.
According to Section 5(3) of the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Act, 2026, the name, sign, trademark or symbol of any tobacco or tobacco product manufacturing company cannot be used in the name of CSR activities, the organisation said.
Providing any form of support in the name of a commercial group or organisation, event or programme is also prohibited, it said.
The BTCA said it has learned that British American Tobacco (BAT) Bangladesh is offering free trees to different social organisations, taking advantage of the government’s programme to plant 25 crore trees in five years, which has invited voluntary organisations to participate.
BTCA alleged that such activities are being presented as CSR initiatives to enhance tobacco companies’ public image and social acceptance.
According to it, public welfare activities such as environmental protection, tree plantation and climate action should not be used to promote tobacco companies, build their brand image or increase their social acceptance.
The involvement of government officials or institutions in such activities may also create opportunities for tobacco companies to gain greater social acceptance, the statement said.
It further said the government’s tree plantation programme is an important national initiative for protecting the environment, biodiversity and climate. “If tobacco companies become involved in or provide support for the programme, there is a risk that the public welfare initiative could be used as part of tobacco companies’ promotional activities,” it said, stressing the need to follow Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in this regard.
BTCA urged government officials and institutions to refrain from accepting trees, financial assistance, gifts, sponsorship or any other form of support from tobacco companies in order to protect public health policies and programmes from the commercial and other interests of the tobacco industry.
It also called on social, voluntary, environmental and other organisations to remain alert to tobacco companies’ so-called CSR activities and not to accept such support.
The statement was signed by, among others, Iqbal Masud, Syed Mahbubul Alam, Sushanta Sinha, Aminul Islam Sujon, Farhana Zaman Liza, Syeda Anannya Rahman, Abu Raihan, Samiul Hasan Sajib and Ibrahim Khalil on behalf of the BTCA.