The Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) has urged the government to ensure that the recently approved Tobacco Control Ordinance is passed into law during the first session of the next national parliament following the upcoming election.
Terming the ordinance a landmark initiative for safeguarding public health, ATMA called on policymakers, civil society members, and the media to remain alert and not be misled by misinformation campaigns allegedly driven by tobacco companies during the legislative process.
The call came during a discussion programme organised by ATMA on Thursday at the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) building in the capital. ATMA Co-Convener Mizan Chowdhury, Hasan Shahriar of PROGGA, and journalists from various media outlets addressed the event.
Speakers said that once enacted, the ordinance would play a crucial role in preventing the younger generation from initiating the use of tobacco and nicotine products. It would also help protect non-smokers-particularly women and children-from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, significantly reducing tobacco-related deaths and health losses across the country.
However, participants expressed concern that the ordinance would become null and void if it is not passed within 30 days of being placed in the first session of parliament.
The discussion also highlighted the alarming scale of tobacco use in Bangladesh. Currently, around 35 percent of people aged 15 and above use tobacco, while nearly 200,000 people die each year from tobacco-related diseases. The combined health and environmental damage caused by tobacco consumption and production amounts to Tk 87,000 crore annually-more than twice the revenue generated by the tobacco sector.
Given these realities, speakers emphasized that passing the ordinance would be beneficial not only for public health but also for the overall economic and social well-being of the country.
Therefore, participants said, both the government and the public would benefit if the ordinance is passed.
