Dainik Mathabhanga, September 7, 2022, An exchange meeting titled “Amendment of the Tobacco Control Law and Preventing Industry Interference” was held on Tuesday morning in Chuadanga. The event was jointly organized by the Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance and Protyasha Samajik Unnayan Sangstha, and took place at the organization's conference room.
The meeting was presided over by Md. Billal Hossain, Executive Director of Protyasha, and the chief guest was Saifuddin Ahmed, Executive Director of WBB Trust and National Coordinator of the Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance.
In his keynote speech, Saifuddin Ahmed stated that “The amendment of the Smoking and Tobacco Products (Control) Act 2005 (Amended 2013) is now a necessity. The Ministry of Health’s new proposed amendments are both timely and globally aligned. Many countries have already adopted similar provisions and are reaping the benefits.”
He highlighted that tobacco companies are aggressively campaigning through proxies to block these amendments, particularly the licensing provision, as such clauses threaten their market expansion.
Ahmed further explained, “While the tobacco sector contributed BDT 30,000 crore in revenue last year, the financial cost of tobacco-related harms amounted to BDT 30,570 crore. This reality underscores the urgent need for reform.” He also reiterated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s commitment to make Bangladesh tobacco-free by 2040.
Ziaur Rahman, Executive Director of Swapno Sangstha, attended as a special guest.
Moin-ul-Alam, Executive Director of Subah Samajik Unnayan Sangstha, delivered the welcome speech.
Other speakers included:
- Saidur Rahman Lipu, Executive Director, Grameen Samajik Unnayan Sangstha
- Kamruzzaman Kanchan, Executive Director, Compact Foundation
- Journalists Ahsan Alam and Meherabbi Sanvi
- Yunus Ali, Project Coordinator, PRPDP
- Tofayel Ahmed, Project Coordinator, WASAIF Project
The event was moderated by Saidur Rahman, Program Focal and Coordinator at Protyasha Samajik Unnayan Sangstha.
