A delegation from research and advocacy organisation PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) on Monday held a meeting with Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin at his office in the Secretariat, said a media release.

During the meeting, the delegation informed the commerce adviser of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s (MoHFW) initiative to eliminate designated smoking areas (DSAs) through law amendment to safeguard non-smokers from the health hazards of passive smoking.

A 100% smoke-free environment cannot be achieved if DSAs continue to exist, it said. Especially, as a person enters or exits smoking zones at hotels and restaurants, cigarette smoke leaks and makes all patrons, including women and children, inhale secondhand smoke, they said.

The delegation informed that the prevalence of tobacco use in Bangladesh is the highest among South Asian countries, with a rate of 35.3% (GATS, 2017), compared to 28.6% in India and 19.1% in Pakistan.

Tobacco related deaths and diseases works as a major impediment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all.

Tobacco claimed nearly 161,000 lives each year in Bangladesh. The financial loss incurred from tobacco-related deaths and diseases is much higher than the revenue earned from the tobacco sector, said the press release.

The delegation included Mortuza Haider Liton, ATMA convener; Nadira Kiron, co-convener of ATMA; Md. Shafiqul Islam, business In-charge, Bangla Tribune; ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA, and Md. Hasan Shahriar, head of Programs, PROGGA.