Dublin conference hastens Bangladesh’s tobacco control progress

Throughout the last two decades, there has been a significant decline in the prevalence of tobacco use among adults (15 y/o and above) all across the world. According to “Global Report on Trends in Prevalence of Tobacco Use 2000-2030” by the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2000, 1 in every 3 adults (32.7 percent) used to use tobacco. By 2022, as per the report, the number of tobacco users dropped to 1 in every 5 adults (20.9 percent). Overall, the relative reduction in tobacco users worldwide in this period (2000-2022) stands at 36 percent. Essentially, this tremendous success is a result of coordinated efforts based on recommendations put forth by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a global treaty on tobacco control designed to strengthen national and international response to curb the tobacco epidemic. Bangladesh, the world’s 8th most populous country, also shows similar signs of progress as the latest Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) reveals a 18.5 percent relative reduction in tobacco use among adults between 2009 and 2017, which is undoubtedly a significant improvement in the status of public health in a nation of 173 million people.

Despite such progress, the global death toll caused by tobacco use has remained quite high. According to WHO, tobacco use globally accounts for more than 8 million deaths each year. The loss of lives due to tobacco use stands at a staggering 161,000 each year in Bangladesh. A 2023 study identified tobacco use as the second leading risk factor for death from any cause worldwide. What is more concerning is the fact that nearly 80 percent of 1.3 billion of tobacco users worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Bangladesh, putting massive pressure on the public health and economy of countries that are least equipped to respond to such additional burden.

This is the very reason that highlights the importance of international collaboration and knowledge sharing regarding tobacco control like never before. With dwindling prevalence of tobacco use in the high-income countries, the multinational tobacco giants have been concentrating resources rapidly in LMICs and reinventing the deadly products targeting the massive youth population of these developing nations in mind. Such ‘gold rush’ of tobacco companies to LMICs have necessarily transformed these countries into the last battlegrounds for the future of tobacco. Against this backdrop, the World Conference on Tobacco Control (WCTC) 2025, the first such in-person conference since 2018, scheduled to be held in Dublin on 23-25 June, 2025, is expected to revitalize the global tobacco control movement by sharing best practices on effective measures to control tobacco use, provide better and time-fitting campaign resources and generate greater consensus among stakeholders across nations in battling new threats from the industry.

The 2025 Conference should be of particular relevance for Bangladesh, the world’s 9th largest cigarette market. A look at Bangladesh’s historical track record on tobacco control will show that the country has involved itself in all global initiative to curb the tobacco epidemic from the very beginning. Bangladesh is one of the first few countries that signed and ratified the WHO FCTC treaty, adopted by the 56th World Health Assembly in 2003. To expedite the implementation of WHO FCTC, Bangladesh adopted its first tobacco control law in 2005, namely Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2005 and later, amended the aforementioned law in 2013 to make it more time-fitting. The 2013 amendment was later followed by the formulation of Rules in 2015. Very recently, an initiative has been taken to strengthen the law even further and make it more in line with the recommendations of WHO FCTC. The major proposals incorporated in the draft amendment include but are not limited to: elimination of the provisions of designated smoking areas (DSAs) in all public places and public transport, banning the display of tobacco products at points-of-sale, banning e-cigarettes and vaping, banning the loose sale of tobacco products and banning corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs of tobacco companies. It goes without saying that the proposed amendment, if finalized and adopted, will strengthen Bangladesh’s global position in terms of tobacco control. As the 2025 Conference program has sessions on TI CSR programs, standard packaging, commercial sale of cigarettes, smoke-free and TAPS regulations and so on, it is expected to help boost the cause of the draft amendment.

Hiking the prices of tobacco products through taxation has been proven globally to be an effective measure that discourages tobacco use. While Bangladesh has made some progress in revamping its worn-out tobacco tax structure, the complexities and loopholes have largely failed to effectively discourage tobacco use among the masses and also to manage a satisfactory stream of revenue for the government.

Additionally, the emerging tobacco products (ETPs), such as e-cigarettes, vaping, heated tobacco products, etc., have appeared as new threats in the tobacco control landscape all across the world. Produced and marketed with innovative strategies, sleek designs and appealing flavors, tobacco companies have particularly targeted the children and the youth to hook on ETPs. The popularity of such products is also rising among the youth at an alarming rate.

Apart from the threat of ETPs, tobacco industry’s interference and ill tactics are also a major impediment in Bangladesh. According to the 2023 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, Bangladesh, with a poor score of 72, was placed at the very bottom among its South Asian peers. Such performance clearly shows that the country has largely failed to make use of Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC in protecting its public health policies from the interference of tobacco industry. However, a WHO FCTC Article 5.3 guidelines has been adopted very recently for officials working in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and all its subordinate offices. Similar guidelines must be adopted for all ministries and divisions.

In Bangladesh, 35.3 percent of all adults still use tobacco. The high prevalence of tobacco use among the least solvent demographic is of particular concern. Besides, the high percentage of smokeless tobacco (jarda and gul) users among women is also a major threat to public health.

The WCTC 2025, organized jointly by the WHO and the Union, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, is expected to see a massive gathering of world-renowned public health experts, government officials and representatives of civil society all across the globe to discuss the current status of tobacco control, progress made by national governments and the future of global tobacco control movement. The Dublin Conference is also particularly important for Bangladesh as it will create an opportunity for the delegation, comprising high-level government officials and representatives of civil society organizations, to learn global best practices in tobacco control and exchange national experiences. The knowledge, expertise and strategies gathered for the Dublin Conference will undoubtedly pave the way for building a tobacco-free, healthy and thriving Bangladesh.

Writer: Md. Hasan Shahriar, Head of Programs, PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress).
Email: [email protected]