Health reporters reject tobacco industry input on law amendment

Bangladesh Health Reporters Forum has urged the government to scrap its decision to seek input from tobacco companies in the ongoing process of amending the Tobacco Control Act, calling the move a "severe threat to public health."

Speaking at a workshop in Dhaka today (13 August), the forum said involving the tobacco industry directly violates Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which prohibits industry interference in policymaking.

The workshop, titled "Public Interest vs. Tobacco Industry Influence: The Role of Journalists in Expediting Tobacco Control Law Amendment," was organised by the Bangladesh Health Reporters Forum with support from the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh.

Leaders of the forum said that any industry involvement in drafting public health laws undermines the spirit of tobacco control and risks delaying essential reforms. They called on the government to prioritise public interest over corporate influence in order to protect lives.

Public interest over corporate influence

Rashed Rabbi, president of the Bangladesh Health Reporters Forum, delivered the welcome address, while the keynote presentation was made by Prof Dr Sohel Reza Choudhury, head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute.

Dr Choudhury said that in Bangladesh, more than 1,61,000 people die each year from tobacco-related diseases, and over 4,00,000 people become disabled. Additionally, nearly 38.4 million adults are exposed to secondhand smoke every day in public places and public transport.

"To address this alarming situation, it is urgent to amend the existing Tobacco Control Act without delay," he stated.

"Unfortunately, the government has decided to take opinions from tobacco companies in stakeholder meetings, which is a direct violation of WHO FCTC Article 5.3.

"We demand that the government immediately withdraw this decision and approve the proposed amendment in the advisory council meeting of the Ministry of Health," he stated.

Rashed Rabbi said, "On average, 442 people die prematurely every day in Bangladesh due to tobacco use. To reduce these preventable deaths, the Tobacco Control Act must be amended immediately. Sadly, we see the government delaying this process under various pretexts. The government must take responsibility for every premature death caused by such delays."

He further added that the current interim government came to power with promises of reforms in various sectors.

"But in the past year, we have seen no effective steps toward amending the tobacco law. Instead, influenced by the propaganda of tobacco companies, the government has decided to collect their opinions under the name of stakeholder meetings. This is a clear violation of the WHO FCTC.

"The government must withdraw this decision immediately and approve and implement the amended Tobacco Control Act proposed by the Ministry of Health," he urged.

Journalists participating in the workshop said that, according to Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, tobacco companies must not be involved in the formulation or amendment of any policy. However, in the 13 July meeting of the advisory committee, a decision was made to seek tobacco company opinions on the draft amendment of the Tobacco Control Act — a move they described as completely unacceptable.

They also noted that the only aim of tobacco companies is profit, not public health. Accepting their opinions means ignoring public interest. They pledged to continue publishing regular reports on the issue to draw the attention of the authorities concerned.

6 key amendments

The six key amendments proposed by the Ministry of Health to the existing law include: Eliminating Designated Smoking Areas (DSA) to make all public places and public transport completely smoke-free; Banning tobacco product displays at points of sale to prevent attraction among youth and potential users; Completely prohibiting tobacco companies' Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities; Protecting adolescents and young people from e-cigarettes and all emerging tobacco products; Increasing the size of pictorial health warnings on tobacco packets and containers from 50% to 90%; and Prohibiting the sale of single sticks of bidis and cigarettes, as well as unwrapped and unpackaged smokeless tobacco products.

The workshop was also attended by Naimul Azam Khan, advisor to the Tobacco Control Project of the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute; Dr Aruna Sarkar, project coordinator; Senior Communications Officer Abu Jafor; and Mainul Hasan Sohel, general secretary of the Dhaka Reporters Unity, along with representatives from various media outlets.