Give Police Limited Power to Fine Smokers on Public Transport

Smoking on public transport is prohibited in Bangladesh, and the law provides for fines for violations.

Yet despite these legal provisions, smoking continues to occur on buses, minibuses and other forms of public transport.

The problem is particularly difficult when a violation takes place on a moving vehicle.

A passenger or transport worker may smoke for only a few minutes, making it difficult for conventional enforcement mechanisms to respond in time.

This raises a fundamental question: when a violation occurs, who can act immediately, who can document the offence, and who can impose the appropriate penalty?

The issue has become more important following the Smoking and Tobacco Products (Control) (Amendment) Act, 2026, which was gazetted on April 10, 2026.

The amendment increased the fines for smoking and using tobacco products in public places and public transport. In other words, Bangladesh has already strengthened the law.

The next challenge is to ensure that stronger penalties translate into stronger enforcement on the ground.

The problem, however, should not simply be described as a lack of police authority.

Bangladesh’s tobacco-control law already recognizes the concept of an “authorized officer.”

Under Section 9, an authorized officer may enter and inspect public places and public transport within his or her jurisdiction and may remove a person who violates the law.

The Smoking and Tobacco Products (Control) Rules, 2015, issued on March 19, 2015, further developed this enforcement framework and included police officers of specified ranks among officials associated with the authorized-officer structure.

But there is an important legal distinction between being an authorized officer and having the power to impose a fine directly at the scene.

Under the existing framework, police officers can identify violations, conduct inspections and initiate necessary legal procedures.

However, direct authority to impose a monetary penalty under the tobacco control law does not automatically arise merely from holding a particular police rank.

In practice, fines for tobacco-control offences are more commonly imposed through mobile courts conducted by Executive Magistrates.

This distinction points to the real policy question: Can trained police officers of specified ranks be given limited and clearly defined legal authority to impose fines for specified tobacco-control offences, while maintaining due process, accountability and appropriate safeguards? This question deserves serious legal and policy consideration.

The issue is particularly urgent on moving public transport. Unlike many other offences, smoking on a bus can begin and end within minutes.

Expecting an Executive Magistrate to reach the vehicle every time a passenger or transport worker violates the smoking prohibition is not always realistic.

Police officers, however, are already present on roads, at bus terminals, transport hubs and other important points.

They routinely interact with public transport as part of their regular duties. Their presence therefore creates an opportunity to strengthen enforcement at the point where violations actually occur.

Giving police such authority would not necessarily mean transferring the judicial functions of Executive Magistrates to the police.

Instead, Bangladesh could examine a narrowly defined enforcement model in which trained police officers of specified ranks are authorized, under specific legal conditions, to impose penalties for clearly identified offences or to initiate an expedited process leading to action by an Executive Magistrate.

This approach should also be considered alongside the Road Transport Act, 2018.

Section 49 establishes general provisions concerning the operation of motor vehicles, while Section 92 provides penalties for violations of specified provisions. However, it is important not to confuse the two legal frameworks.

The current Section 49 of the Road Transport Act, 2018 does not itself expressly state that smoking on public transport is prohibited.

The primary legal basis for prohibiting smoking on public transport remains the tobacco control law.

The Road Transport Act should therefore be treated as a complementary framework for strengthening compliance and enforcement within the transport sector, rather than as a substitute for tobacco-control legislation.

Bangladesh also does not need to create an entirely new enforcement structure. The existing law and the 2015 Rules already provide a foundation for police involvement.

The inclusion of police officers within the authorized-officer framework demonstrates that their role in tobacco-control enforcement has already been recognized.

What remains unclear is how effectively an officer who witnesses a violation can move from identifying that violation to taking immediate and legally effective action. This is the enforcement gap that now needs to be addressed.

Transport owners and management authorities should also be included in a compliance mechanism.

If repeated complaints of smoking arise against a particular vehicle or operator, those complaints should be recorded and communicated to the relevant transport authority or management.

This would help shift enforcement from a narrow model of individual punishment toward a broader model of institutional compliance.

The role of the police should therefore be understood as that of an effective enforcement partner, not the entire tobacco-control system.

Tobacco control is fundamentally a public-health policy issue. Police officers can form one part of an integrated enforcement chain by identifying offences, receiving complaints, documenting evidence, following the prescribed legal process and, where legally authorized, imposing the applicable penalty.

Health authorities, local administration, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and tobacco-control institutions can continue to focus on policy, training, monitoring, compliance and public awareness.

Bangladesh’s international tobacco-control commitments also reinforce the importance of effective implementation.

The existence of legislation is not, by itself, evidence of effective tobacco control. Laws must be implemented in ways that meaningfully protect people from tobacco use and exposure in their everyday lives.

A smoke-free public transport system is therefore not merely a domestic regulatory objective; it is part of a broader public-health commitment to protect people from tobacco-related harm.

The existing law and the 2015 Rules have already established the concept of authorized officers and created a basis for police involvement. What is now required is a careful reassessment of that framework and, where necessary, targeted legal reform.

That reform could take the form of amendments to the law, amendments to the Rules, lawful delegation of authority, or an integrated enforcement mechanism linking police officers with Executive Magistrates.

Bangladesh now has an opportunity to move from legislation to implementation. The relevant ministries, National Tobacco Control Cell, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, local administration, transport owners and workers, and legal experts should work together to establish a clear, lawful and practical enforcement mechanism.

That mechanism should combine clear authority, rapid response, due process, transparent financial procedures, institutional accountability, monitoring and public participation.

The goal is not simply to issue more fines. The goal is to ensure that the law protecting passengers from tobacco smoke is enforceable where and when violations actually occur. Laws are not enacted merely to exist on paper. They are enacted to protect people in their everyday lives.

(The writer is a Public Health and Environment)