Anti-tobacco youth march demands passage of new law

Staff Reporter :

The government must ensure quick passage of the existing draft amendment proposal of the tobacco control law prepared by Health Ministry to safeguard the youth from deadly tobacco and revoke its decision to hold meeting with tobacco companies on the issue of tobacco control law amendment proposal. Such demands have been raised on Saturday from an anti-tobacco Youth March, that took place in the capital. The Youth March commenced at the Central Shaheed Minar and ended at Shahbagh.

Renowned Economist and Former Adviser to the Caretaker Government, Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, inaugurated the event and delivered the welcome address. He said, “The harmful effects of tobacco are scientifically undeniable. I express my solidarity with the young people united here today in their demand to amend the Tobacco Control Act.”

During the Youth March, it was said that tobacco claims nearly 161,000 lives each year in Bangladesh and also causes hundreds of thousands of illnesses including cancer, stroke, heart diseases and disabilities. The prevalence of tobacco use among the youth is rising at an alarming pace which poses alarming threat to the future generation of the country.

As reported in media, the Advisory Committee formed to review the draft of the tobacco control law amendment proposal, namely Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024 has decided to meet with the tobacco companies. Such a decision is in clear violation of Article 5.3 of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization (WHO). As per FCTC Article 5.3, any sort of involvement of the tobacco industry or its affiliates in the formulation of tobacco control related laws, rules or policies, is completely unacceptable. Bangladesh, as one of the first countries to sign and ratify FCTC, must comply with the international obligation.

Participants at the Youth March have urged the government to (1) Revoke decision of the Advisory Committee to hold meeting with tobacco companies without delay; and (2) Pass the draft Tobacco Control Act amendment proposed by the Ministry of Health immediately.

Dhaka Ahsania Mission, DORP, National Heart Foundation, Nari Maitree, PPRC, PROGGA and TABINAJ expressed solidarity with the Youth March along with other representatives of anti-tobacco organizations. Participants handed over a list of demands, signed by nearly 10,000 anti-tobacco youths, to the representative of the Office of the Chief Advisor, Government of Bangladesh.