Control tobacco to combat NCDs: Health Minister
Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain has called for stronger and more coordinated tobacco control measures, saying Bangladesh cannot effectively tackle the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) without reducing tobacco use.
“Prevention of non-communicable diseases is not possible without effective tobacco control,” the minister said, stressing the need for measures to reduce tobacco consumption and protect young people from nicotine addiction.
He made the remarks as chief guest at a seminar titled “Actions to Control Non-Communicable Diseases and Protect Future Generations from the Harmful Effects of Tobacco and Nicotine”, organised by Dhaka Ahsania Mission at the CIRDAP International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Monday.
About 71 per cent of all deaths in Bangladesh are caused by NCDs, with tobacco use identified as one of the major risk factors, the minister said.
He said the government had allocated the highest-ever budget for the health sector in the national budget, but tobacco remained a major obstacle to improving public health.
The minister said the government was taking measures to strengthen tobacco control and noted that, in line with its election manifesto, the Tobacco Control Act had been further amended and strengthened and passed in 2026.
He also stressed the need for effective, coordinated and timely measures in accordance with the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
Speakers at the seminar said about 37.8 million people in Bangladesh use tobacco products and that tobacco-related diseases cause around 200,000 premature deaths annually, equivalent to approximately 546 deaths every day.
They estimated that the combined health and environmental costs associated with tobacco amounted to around Tk 87,000 crore.
Tobacco cultivation is also contributing to deforestation, declining soil fertility and increased use of chemical inputs, they said.
The speakers expressed concern that e-cigarettes had been excluded from the amended Tobacco Control Act 2026, warning that tobacco companies were using various strategies to expand their market by targeting young people.
They called for stringent legal measures to ban the production, import, marketing and sale of e-cigarettes and other emerging nicotine products, as well as measures to prevent their promotion and easy availability.
They also urged the authorities to formulate rules under the amended Tobacco Control Act without delay.
Professor Dr Golam Rahman, president of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, chaired the seminar, while Professor Dr Syed Md Akram Hossain, chairman of the Department of Clinical Oncology at Bangladesh Medical University, was the chief discussant.
Additional Secretary of the Health Services Division Sheikh Momena Moni and Mostafizur Rahman, former chairman of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation and vice-president of Dhaka Ahsania Mission S M Dr Khalilur Rahman, also took part in the discussion.
Iqbal Masud, director of the Health and Nutrition Sector of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, delivered the welcome address, while project coordinator Shariful Islam presented the keynote paper.
More than 100 people, including government officials, physicians, public health experts, development organisation representatives and university students, attended the seminar.
