Tobacco Control Ordinance 2025 Demands Parliamentary Action Now
Tobacco imposes a multidimensional burden that extends far beyond, affecting families, communities, public health systems, the environment, and the national economy. The Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 is therefore not merely a public health measure; it is a test of our political will and policy coherence. Moreover, to protect people from the devastating impact of tobacco, passing the Tobacco Control Ordinance 2025 as a bill in Parliament is indispensable to safeguard public health and reduce preventable deaths.
According to the Tobacco Atlas (2025), nearly 200,000 people in Bangladesh die prematurely each year from tobacco-related diseases. Evidence from Bangladesh Medical University (2025) further shows that tobacco use is responsible for 46% of all cancer cases in the country. Beyond cancer, tobacco is a major driver of heart attacks, strokes, and chronic respiratory illnesses, placing immense strain on an already overstretched healthcare system. These figures are not merely statistics—each tobacco-related death represents a family torn apart, with lives cut short and futures abruptly altered.
In addition to its health implications, tobacco use and production generate extensive economic costs that far exceed the revenue they produce. A recent study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimates that in 2024 alone, the total cost attributable to tobacco in Bangladesh amounted to approximately BDT 87,000 crore. This includes direct healthcare costs, productivity losses due to illness and premature death, and environmental damage. Notably, environmental degradation—deforestation, soil depletion, water pollution, and air contamination from tobacco cultivation and consumption—accounted for around 16 percent of this total cost.
By contrast, government revenue from tobacco products in the same year amounted to roughly BDT 40,000 crore—leaving the country to shoulder nearly double the amount it collects in return. In simple fiscal terms, tobacco is a losing proposition for the state. The narrative that tobacco contributes positively to public finance does not withstand scrutiny when health and environmental externalities are properly accounted for. Continuing to rely on tobacco revenue while absorbing twice the amount in social and economic costs is neither rational nor sustainable.
Enacted into law by the upcoming parliament, the Tobacco Control Ordinance aims to strengthen existing regulations by closing loopholes, expanding smoke-free protections in public places and public transports, broadening the definition of tobacco products, restricting advertising and promotion across digital and over-the-top platforms, regulating point-of-sale displays, and addressing emerging products such as electronic nicotine delivery systems. These measures are aligned with Bangladesh’s commitments under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and with global best practices in public health regulation.
However, an ordinance—by its nature—is a temporary instrument. Its long-term effectiveness depends on parliamentary endorsement. Without passage as a bill, the legal certainty and institutional continuity required for sustained tobacco control will remain fragile. From an administrative standpoint, weaknesses in the legal framework lead to enforcement delays, legal challenges, and reduced institutional confidence.
The government therefore has a critical role to play. Facilitating the placement of the ordinance as a bill before Parliament is not a procedural formality; it is a substantive act of safeguarding the public interest. Legislative scrutiny, debate, and eventual passage will lend democratic legitimacy to the reform and ensure its durability across political cycles.
Ultimately, the choice before us is clear: do we continue to prioritise short-term revenue and industry interests, or do we invest in the health, productivity, and wellbeing of future generations? Strong tobacco control is among the most cost-effective public health interventions available. In Bangladesh, tobacco claims one life every 2 minutes and 38 seconds—equivalent to an estimated 23 deaths each hour and 546 preventable deaths every day. Each moment of delay compounds avoidable healthcare costs and causes irreversible environmental harm.
Passing the amended Tobacco Control Ordinance as a law of Parliament would be a decisive step toward a healthier, more resilient Bangladesh. It would demonstrate that evidence-based policymaking can prevail over inertia and vested interests. More importantly, it would affirm that the state is willing to act decisively when the lives and futures of its citizens are at stake.
By Munshi Alauddin Al Azad, Former Secretary and Former Member, National Independent Investigation Commission