Dhaka, Nov 14 ( UNB)- Speakers at a seminar on Thursday urged the government to amend the current Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2005 (amended in 2013) immediately in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)  to protect the nation’s health and mitigate economic losses.

The speakers expressed these views at a seminar titled "The Role of the Media in Amending Tobacco Control Laws and Increasing Tobacco Taxes for Public Health Protection"at a hotel in the capital.

It was jointly organized by the Bangladesh Health Reporters’ Forum and the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh. 

The speakers said more than 161,000 people die prematurely each year in Bangladesh due to tobacco-related diseases.

Despite this alarming reality, tobacco companies are hindering efforts to amend tobacco laws solely to protect their profits. These companies claim that such amendments would reduce government revenue, they said.

They also presented that a 2018 study shows that the economic burden of tobacco-related illnesses costs the country around 8 billion BDT more than the revenue collected from the tobacco industry annually. 

Professor Choudhury pointed out that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken initiatives to amend the law to safeguard public health. 

However, tobacco companies and their affiliates are opposing the amendments, arguing that they would lead to significant revenue losses for the government. Yet, data from the National Board of Revenue shows that following the enactment of the TC law in 2005, cigarette tax revenue increased by 17.97% and 37.52% in the fiscal years 2005-06 and 2006-07, respectively. 

Similarly, after the 2013 amendments, cigarette tax revenue grew by 25.51% and 46.52% in the fiscal years 2013-14 and 2014-15, respectively. Thus, Professor Chowdhury emphasized the urgent need to enact the proposed amendments through an ordinance to prevent these avoidable deaths.

Mostafizur Rahman, Lead Policy Advisor, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), said that the interim government has taken a decision to amend the current TC law for public health reasons. Yet, the business of tobacco companies in Bangladesh continues to grow, primarily due to weak laws. 

Six major changes have been proposed to align the amended TC law more closely with the WHO FCTC. These include eliminating designated smoking areas in all public places and public transport, banning the display of tobacco products at sales points, prohibiting corporate social responsibility activities by tobacco companies, banning the import, production, use, and marketing of e-cigarettes, ending the retail sale of tobacco products, and increasing the size of graphic health warnings on packaging from 50% to 90%.

The seminar was presided over by Professor Khondaker Abdul Awal Rizvi, President of the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh, and moderated by Rashed Rabbi, President of the Bangladesh Health Reporters’ Forum. Professor Sohel Reza Choudhury, Head of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, presented the keynote.